


the kind of flood you'll never forget

by fucklinson (orphan_account)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Friends to Lovers, Heartbreaking, Love/Hate, M/M, Please Don't Hate Me, biology references, enemy death, violence that's summarized
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-07
Updated: 2014-07-07
Packaged: 2018-02-07 19:13:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 26,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1910481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/fucklinson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Is that your land music?"</p>
<p>Louis starts in surprise, which makes Harry chuckle as he sits next to other boy on the sand. Blushing, Louis now notices he’s been singing John Legend out loud without fully realizing it. </p>
<p>"Yeah,” Louis mumbles, “but -"</p>
<p>"It's beautiful." </p>
<p>Louis is taken back, turning his head to look into Harry’s eyes. "Trust me my voice is rubbish. You should hear the actual artist."</p>
<p>"I have nothing to compare to and I still think your voice is beautiful. Doesn’t that say something?" Harry raises his eyebrows, daring Louis to challenge him.</p>
<p>or AU where Harry is a mythical sea creature and Louis is the (almost) marine biologist who’s oblivious</p>
            </blockquote>





	the kind of flood you'll never forget

**Author's Note:**

  * For [unshipping](https://archiveofourown.org/users/unshipping/gifts).



> I’m sorry, this story has a not so happy ending. I feel like I couldn’t do much with smut either, I wanted to keep this short and sweet and its still pretty long :3 But, there is no Nick/Harry and females dating Louis or Harry. 
> 
> and I want to say a HUGE thank you to my beta mirjam, you saved me with this aha. I would say your tumblr (because I highly recommend you as a beta for everyone) but the rules of the hlsummerfest said that's not a good idea ): but just know i love youuu 
> 
> I hope you like it regardless, this has been my baby for the past few weeks. Enjoy x

☼

Long nights, great sex, beautiful beaches and exploring the coral reefs.

 

That’s what Louis pictures as his plane descends into the tropical islands of Hawaii.

 

Just looking out the window, he sees endless blue waters with sand that stretches as far as his eyes can see. He’s already mentally planning his whole vacation, accompanied by his two best friends Liam and Zayn, and as soon as their luggage is in their hands – it’s off to the beach. He has a hotel booked right across from the most popular surfing location in all of Hawaii, and he’s planning to spend his morning collecting samples for back home and afternoon catching the biggest waves of his life. Then when night comes, it’s off to a local bar to hit up some beach babes.

 

And not to mention he’s going to have the best tan of his life by the time this is all over – which is a huge bonus on his part.

 

Liam’s sleeping on Zayn’s shoulder across from Louis. Louis doesn’t even think twice before shooting out a leg to kick the boy awake. The sleeping friend flinches, almost falling off his seat in the process.

 

The plane touches the landing with a jolt, and everyone inside claps the pilot a well done. “Welcome to Maui everyone. I hope you enjoy your time here and thank you for flying Continental Airlines.” Louis watches the plane set with the terminal, and after the doors are open to leave, Louis hauls Zayn and Liam out of their seats to be the first ones off. Alana, one of the flight crew, smile warmly at him as they exits and he waves hurriedly. He’s itching to get outside and have the hot breeze of Hawaii warm his skin. But he still has to wait for his luggage to be unloaded.

 

“Can you slow down? Maui isn’t going anywhere,” Zayn grumbles, slowing his jog to an even walk. Liam quits his hurrying as well, watching as Louis rolls his eyes. ”We still have to wait for our bags,”

 

“You’re such a lazy ass,” with that, he slows his pace to a normal walk but his limbs are still shaking with anticipation, “Honestly why don’t airports have open roofs or something? Do they really expect me to just stand here knowing there’s a whole island of –“

 

“We get it,” They turn out of the terminal, heading where the sign points to baggage claim, “You want to get outside but we _still_ need to call a taxi and find out where our hotel is but what if the flight crew lost our bags, _oh_ , and I have to call –“ Zayn’s arm hooks around a worried Liam.

 

“Relax LiLi, we’re on vacation, remember? No stressing out. All it takes is a phone call and we’ll be at Jaws in no time and Louis will be long gone, surfing some waves, and it will just be you,” he brings his voice down to a suggestive whisper, “and me, in a hotel room, all to ourselves. How does that sound?”

 

Liam blushes, pecking Zayn’s lips and smiling widely, “That – that sounds really nice,” he admits. Louis groans from in front of the two. Ever since Zayn and Liam started dating, Louis couldn’t have been happier, the two complete each other – with Zayn being chill and Liam being the worrywart – but the cute moments become annoying after having to watch them everyday.

 

Personally, Louis doesn’t swing that way. He prefers a nice, short, and tan girl with a beautiful smile and big boobs. He likes hanging out with Zayn and Liam though, and he doesn’t care about his best friends being gay.

 

“Okay guys save the mushy stuff for when I’m out catching waves,” Zayn drops his arm to Liam’s waist, keeping a protective hold as they walk through an unknown territory. Louis is more than okay strolling by himself with no one to watch him. He’s always been the adventurous one, taking risks that others wouldn’t dare to do, but not minding the thrill that comes with it.

 

All around the boys, there are stands of different items being sold. From tourist hats to post cards, Louis’s fascinated by everything as a child would be. Zayn has to drag him away from buying an ‘authentic gold necklace’ because that’s Louis for you. He doesn’t have common sense and is very trustworthy with people – making him a prime target for sellers.

 

The soft sound of Beyoncé plays over the boys, echoing throughout the fairly busy airport. Louis starts belting the lyrics of Move Your Body, catching some of the locals’ eyes. “ _Put your knees up in the sky, cause we’re just having fun, YEAH!_ ” Zayn jumps on his back, effectively shutting him up when they crash to the ground. “Murder!” Louis screams, wrestling with his mate, “Help me I’m being murdered!”

 

Liam shushes him, making sure no one actually took the crazy boy seriously enough to call police, “Don’t joke like that! Now when there’s actually someone about to be killed they’ll think they’re just joking around!” Zayn quits his wrestling, climbing up and hugging Liam. Louis makes a gagging noise behind them, standing up and running the rest of the way to baggage claim.

 

“I swear that boy has too much energy,” Zayn huffs, pulling Liam’s hand towards where their friend ran off, “I don’t know if we’re going to be able to handle him.”

 

When the two boys round the corner, Louis is animatedly talking with an old man holding a pamphlet right next to the conveyor belt. Liam breaks from Zayn’s hold, jogging to Louis and saying, “Sorry he’s not interested in whatever you’re selling –“

 

“Liam, shush!” Louis quiets him, handing the man two dollars for the pamphlet he was holding. “Thank you!” he waves the man off as Liam tugs his arm away. Louis doesn’t have a chance before he’s forced down on to a bench, with Liam trying to snatch his pamphlet away. “Hey! I bought this you don’t touch it!”

 

He swats away the friend’s hands numerous times before Liam gives up with a groan. “I’m just curious on what it says.”

 

“ _Well_ ,” Louis drags out, licking a finger and dramatically flipping open the paper, “before you decided to interrupt my deep conversation with that lovely man, we were talking about the mythical locations on this island!” The boy gets a sudden burst of excitement, scanning the pamphlet, “He said this is a guide to the different sites and now I want to visit this one he said was –“

 

“Louis, you can’t be serious,” Liam rolls his eyes, plucking the paper out of his friend’s hands, “This is all lies!” Louis gasps and tries to retrieve his paper, “He was just trying to get your money and you fell for it!”

 

“What did he do this time?” Zayn finally catches up, taking a swing from his water bottle he just got from a vending machine.

 

“I bought a very useful information guide to the places in Maui –“

 

“He’s an idiot and bought this stupid pamphlet –“ Louis and Liam both start speaking at the same time.

 

Liam lowers his voice to let Louis explain himself, “There’s this place called Waltedo and supposedly it has some of the best waves in Hawaii! But the guy said there’s a legend of a creature that is so big it makes the waves like 200 feet high and everyone is afraid to surf. I really want to go there!”

 

Zayn looks at the pamphlet in Liam’s hands, squinting weirdly at the bizarre names, “Lou, it says right here that these places are forbidden –“

 

“Who cares?” Louis sighs with frustration, snatching his pamphlet back and situating himself back down on the bench, “It’s, like, right next to our hotel and that’s the first place I want to explore.”

 

“Louis we’re not going there. Period.”

 

“But _Liam_ –“

 

“C’mon Liam,” Zayn squeezes his boyfriends shoulders lovingly, “He doesn’t even have a surf board. It’s not like he can do much without one. So how about this – we head there first and just let him get bored then he’ll be begging us to leave. Sound good?”

 

The speaker overhead announces the luggage for the three boys’ flight has been successfully transferred. Louis races to the belt, practically throwing the bags off and locating his phone. With Liam and Zayn waiting for their bags, Louis dials for a taxi. Liam keeps whispering to Zayn how going to a forbidden beach is a bad idea, but he doesn’t fight it as they climb into the taxi.

 

Louis cannot stop bouncing his knee, looking out the window with huge eyes as they pass through Maui. The palm trees are 30 feet high with a clear blue sky and so many beaches he could feel himself already surfing. It’s like he’s died and gone to a surf heaven – and whenever they pass a person, Louis yells ‘aloha!’ out the opened window. The sun shines bright in the sky, making Louis’ face glow as his eyes crinkle with his smile. The wind blows his hair back like a dog, and he even sticks out his tongue to let it flap with the wind. He’s ridiculous, but Zayn just laughs loudly and Liam buries his face in his boyfriend’s shoulder.

 

The next hour is filled with laughter and singing along to the taxi radio as the boys drive towards Waltedo. The man driving the taxi gave Louis a worried eye when he mentioned the beach, but didn’t question the tourists.

 

“Here we are.” There’s a small sign planted next to carved rock as the taxi slows to a stop in front of a mysterious path. It’s very quiet, the only sounds coming from a distant beach. Louis jumps out of the back seat, rushing to read whatever is on the sign. Liam makes sure there’s cell service and tells the taxi man he can leave – being that Louis wants to stay for a bit and their hotel is right down the road. Zayn pays the right amount and includes a little tip for dealing with their childish behavior.

 

Zayn and Liam unpack the luggage, bringing each bag up to path where Louis starts to read the sign out loud, “If you are reading this sign, that means you are daring yourself to enter Waltedo beach. The public is strongly advised not to enter beyond this point without permits. There is a $2000 penalty for being caught cutting down any trees or stealing any lava rocks,” and in big bold letters he brings his voice down an octave, “It is suggested you turn around right now and go back to where you came from.” He turns back to Liam and Zayn with a winning smile, “it doesn’t sound that bad.”

 

“ _Doesn’t sound that bad_?” Liam rubs a hand over his face; “Louis that sign is basically saying to get the hell away from here before we get killed!”

 

“It’s just trying to scare us!” Louis shakes his head fondly, “There’s probably, like treasure or something, they just don’t want you to find! That just makes it more exciting!”

 

Louis takes off down the path, leaving Liam and Zayn to contemplate if they want to enter. He ignores the noises coming from the trees and instead focuses on not tripping on the wide assortment of plants stretching their stems to block his way. The path must not be that short, because within a minute Louis stops when his toes hit sand. Exhaling his excited breath, he looks up.

 

It’s a spectacular site to witness. The water is a crystal blue; clear enough to see straight to the bottom of the coral reef below. The sand is a perfect shade of white, with little pebbles or trinkets scattered among the shore. There are rocks that form mud pies out by the clear cave on the other end of the beach, leading to a whole collection of inlet rocks that shape beautifully together. Some shells reflect the sunrays, shining brightly towards Louis and making his whole body shine. His breath has been taken away from him at first glance, and all he can muster is a quiet “Wow.”

 

Liam and Zayn struggle through the shore plant creepers, hastily brushing off any leafs or twigs caught on their clothing. “I swear I’ll be trying to get these things out of my shirt for a week –“ and then Liam stops too. Zayn already halted next to Louis, eyes scanning the beach that lies before the three. The sand appears never touched, not a foot print or even animal paw visible.

 

“I can’t believe people are scared to come here,” Louis runs to the water’s edge, dipping his toe to test the temperature, “Oh my god!” he exclaims, starting to strip his clothing. “It’s, like, perfect!” And by perfect he means not too warm or cold.

 

His shirt is thrown aside with his shoes, leaving him in his swim trunks, and he runs the rest of the way into the ocean. Liam tries to find an excuse for him not to go into the water, but his words are caught in his throat. He’s truly captivated by the beach’s beauty, the whole place making him feel a strange emotion of warm – not happy – just, _warm_.

 

Zayn’s soon stripping his own clothing and diving into the waves, splashing with Louis and exploring the coral reef. The water is so clear they can easily distinguish all the different fishes and multi colored rocks.

                                                                                             

“I here by claim this beach ours!” Louis pumps his fist in the air, and Zayn joins him in chanting. Liam rolls his eyes, but with a smile, and he sits down on the sand to watch the two most important people in his life have a blast.

 

After a few hours of splashing around and enjoying the water, Liam warns everyone it’s getting late and they should head back to the hotel for check-in. Louis doesn’t fight it, too tired, and complains when Zayn mentions they have to walk. In the end, Liam ends up taking Louis’ luggage and the small boy rides on Zayn’s back. He’s not heavy in the slightest, making it easy for Zayn to balance him, but it’s still a challenge. Especially because Louis and Zayn are both still wet from the swim and Louis keeps slipping off.

 

The hotel is decorated especially for tourists, with fake palm trees and ratty wallpaper with ukuleles. It isn’t a five star, and Louis mentally vomits at how the workers dress in plastic hula skirts with the girls wearing coconut bikinis – okay, maybe he likes that part.

 

“Welcome to Jaws!” the girl has a strong Hawaiian accent, with a fresh tan to match, “Are you checking in or booking a room?”

 

“Checking in,” Liam supplies, pulling out his credit card for her to scan. Louis investigates the hotel lay out map, seeing what’s on each floor, finding a gym, breakfast room, surf shop, and more.

 

“Okay, you’re all set,” she hands Liam back his card and three room keys for one room with two double beds, “You’re room is on the fifth floor, and the elevator is to your left,” she points to the hallway extending beyond the front desk, “have a wonderful stay and remember, the beach is completely free so make sure to take advantage of it!”

 

“Thank you!”

 

“Aloha!” Louis smiles while waving goodbye, clasping his hand around his bag handle.

 

“That’s a greeting, Lou, not a goodbye,” Zayn laughs, wheeling his luggage down the hallway.

 

“That’s where you are wrong!” Louis points out with a smug expression, “I looked it up! It’s used as a greeting _or_ parting from someone!” He hits the up button.

☼

Louis was recommended to travel to Hawaii after he acquired his bachelor’s degree in marine biology. Being that he grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere with no bodies of water as far as the eye can see, his college professors wanted him to get hand on experience before continuing to get his master’s. Louis knows he’s always been fascinated with the ocean, even if it was from looking underwater with his laptop. His parents had tried to get him to start his own business in farming just like them, but he absolutely refused. He hated his small town since he learned about the world surrounding him, because he’s restricted here while there are thousands of possibilities in his reach.

The University of New England caught his eye at the age of 16, and within two years he applied and got accepted. Maine, at the time, seemed as the greatest place to study to be a marine biologist. The weather, however, crushed his dream a tad bit. He wasn’t allowed to physically go into the water eight months out of the year, and even in those other four the water was absolutely freezing and required an annoying body suit. He got his bachelor’s through boat trips and sometimes if he was lucky, hands on learning with real sea animals. He’ll never admit to this, but he cried when he saw his first whale in person. He also might’ve cried when saw the ocean for the first time as well, because it’s so much more beautiful in person then on a lousy laptop.

 

He met Liam and Zayn freshman year of college, actually he met Zayn, who brought him to a party, and then he met Liam. They clicked instantly over a few drinks. During the breaks, the three would travel to Zayn’s actual home in New Jersey – ten _brutal_ hours of driving – but it would all be worth it because Louis could go in the ocean without a ridiculous body suit. He learned how to surf during spring break of the same year he met the two boys, and has been addicted ever since.                                         

☼

It’s nine in the morning on the second day and Louis is already yelling at the room service staff.

 

“Tea! T-E-A. _Tea._ Not iced coffee without ice! God,” he slams the door in the man’s face, “these _people_.” He flops his body down on the one of two beds in their shared room. The benefit of having your two best friends dating is that they always share a bed and Louis gets his own.

 

“Stop yelling at them, alright?” Liam sighs, “They’re doing their best. If you want tea so damn badly then go downstairs to the breakfast bar and get it yourself.” He collects his room key and his phone, with Zayn following suit. Liam wipes his face, never wanted to make someone feel bad. He hates talking to Louis like he’s a child, because he knows he takes it harsh. He lightly adds, “We’re going down now, if you want.”

 

Louis shrugs, and collects his own room key, “Yeah sure,” he mumbles. Liam has always been the dad of the group, and it annoys the hell out of him sometimes. But he knows Liam has a point, he just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. Who could _sleep_ when you could hear the ocean right outside your window?

☼

Louis finds himself at Waltedo beach later that afternoon, letting the water brush his toes. He has his notebook laying open on the sand behind him, with a pen for observations and/or anything he finds interesting enough to write down. Liam and Zayn are laid out tanning a few hundred feet away from him. Liam abandoned the idea of Waltedo being ‘dangerous’ after the first day, and the three have officially declared Waltedo as their own private beach for the rest of the vacation. There’s no loud families or annoying girls trying too hard to get their attention – which is beyond perfect particularly for marine recording and more importantly _surfing_.

 

He straps on his amateur snorkel and steps the few feet to be plunged half way in water. Until he can find proper gear, not that he expects to find any, a simple snorkel will do.

 

If he thought the coral reef was magnificent from just looking above water, with his new perspective, it’s exceptionally breath taking. Hundreds of different species of fishes mingle through the reefs, swimming and squirming about the tangles of organisms lining the outside. He tests himself by trying to name the species he remembers learning in class, and mentally bookmarks the others he’ll sketch in his notebook to look up.

 

The first thing they say when aspiring to become a marine biologist is to not be fearful of the water. When Louis looks beyond the coral reef, he’s met with the darkness of the never-ending ocean ahead of him. To someone who is afraid of potentially threatening sea creatures, looking into the darkness might render them to give up on exploring. But Louis isn’t afraid, in fact he dreams of further expanding his exploration to the deep sea where the nastiest looking organisms lurk. There are only about 5% of the world’s oceans that have been explored to date, and Louis is flabbergasted on why the population doesn’t want to learn more. It’s all so _exhilarating_ , in Louis’ eyes, that’s why he’s made it his life’s passion.

 

He spends an hour swimming about the coral reef, peeking his head up every now and then to assure he’s not that far from shore. When he’s itching to surf for the first time in Hawaii, he swims back to the sand.

 

Zayn helps him sketch some fishes and organisms he can’t draw himself. He categorizes them by average size, color, scales, eyes, tails, fins, and many more aspects he’s taught to look for, and stores the notebook for later. After breakfast he had rented a board for his time at the hotel, and Liam helped him drag it out to Waltedo.

 

The board has tie dye pattern going along the deck, with a pure black stringer, white rails, and a bright blue fins. If he could, he would buy it permanently and bring it back home he loves the design so much, but he doesn’t have any place to store it when he’s not in Jersey.

 

But he didn’t take in to effect that he’d get hungry around three in the afternoon, so he hides the board in the woods lining Waltedo and promises himself to come back right after lunch.

☼

Now, Louis’s been friends with Liam for years, and to this day he’s not heard the boy yell once. Get frustrated, sure, but never full fledge yell.

 

But Louis may or may have not threw his _not_ tea drink at a waiter, and he may or may have got the boys kicked out of the hotel restaurant. Which, wouldn’t be so much of a problem if that wasn’t the only place to eat besides the cheap buffet the hotel provides complementary.

 

So, Louis didn’t expect Liam to particularly happy with him, but never expected him to _yell_ of all things.

 

“You are so fucking inconsiderate!”

 

“Liam,” Zayn comes up behind the fuming boy, gently placing his hands on either side of Liam’s hips. “Don’t start anything,” he warns, “we’ll just go into town and get some food.“ Sure, Zayn’s not joyful at the moment, but he’s a rather passive person. He doesn’t care for conflict, or any time of argument. The three are in their room, with Louis busying himself with sorting out his clothes while he lets Liam yell.

 

Liam doesn’t listen, tearing his body away from his boyfriend and staring at Louis menacingly. “You always just think of yourself! I’ve known you for years and you still act like you’re fucking not even in college for God’s sake! Well, guess what, you aren’t a fucking child anymore! Grow the fuck up because me and Zayn aren’t going to be here forever! I’m sick and tired of your attitude – seriously, who fucking _throws_ their drink at a waiter!You know what? I’m _tired_ of you! I’m tired of you and your fucking attitude and I’m on vacation, I’m not here to babysit your ass all day. I wish –” He pauses, as if to add to what he just says, but stops himself. Zayn is too shocked to stop Liam as he storms out of the room, slamming the door on his way out.

 

Liam was just about to say he wished he never met Louis.

 

Louis can’t confirm or deny that, but he’s pretty sure that’s what the boy would’ve said if he continued.

Louis stares expressionless at the spot where Liam once occupied, peering as if he was having an internal war. Zayn tries to come up to comfort him, to tell him Liam’s just overreacting and he’ll apologize, but Louis is running out of the room before he gets the chance.

 

He doesn’t know where the hell he’s going, but he can’t look at Zayn without thinking of Liam and wanting to burst in tears.

☼

It happens in slow motion - his mind freezing from further thought.

 

Louis doesn't have control over the direction of the wave, bending his knees to balance on his board as it’s thrown off course. He sees the long stretch of beach cut off, replaced by a separating line of rocks from sea laying where the wave is bound to run into. He hears Liam and Zayn’s shouts from the beach - knowing they are begging him to jump off his board. They scream his name and wave their hands frantically to catch his attention. The shrill terror embedded in their voices sounds of a tiny white noise buzzing in Louis’ ear.

 

Each rock holds a shape or unique pattern that makes Louis captivated to its form. The sight, too enhanced to take his focus away, fixates him. The white noise of his friends continues to bother his ears, annoying and loud compared to this peaceful sound of ocean. The wave curls around his bended body, the curve smooth and perfect, like out of a movie. Sunlight streams around the light colored water, breaking the barrier to shine inside the curl.

 

This is how he's going to die - smashing into a rock in the middle of a beach whilst doing his passion. He pictures heaven looking like so, as he reaches his hand out to drag along the curl, his fingers leaving a line of splash. This is the perfect wave he's been craving for – all his surfing years leading him to Hawaii, to this beach. If he was going to die surfing, this is the perfect way to go - looking into the eye of the wave with the curl splashes tickling his bare chest.

 

As rocks grow closer to his board, he imagines how his family will react to the story. Flashes of his sisters all gathered around his mother, crying from the loss of their only brother. Louis sees him making news all around the world, "Surfer Dies off the Coast of Hawaii on a Forbidden Beach". He always dreamt of fame from surfing, maybe competing in the National Surf contests on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world - his name feared from competitors but adored by amateurs.

 

His perfect wave and fantasy are growing increasingly closer to an end as the rocks appear only a few hundred feet in front of him. The one he's bound to hit has a huge spike conveniently pointed straight towards him. Time begins to speed up in his brain, back to normal motion. He looks out to the beach, notices the white noise has been replaced by the crash of other waves beside his own. This it is. He's about to die.

 

With one last look upon the white sand, he closes his eyes and retracts his hand from the curved flow. He turns towards the spike dead on, waiting for the sharp jag of rock to pierce his tan chest straight through the heart.

 

His world goes black with his eyelids closed, his whole bodying pumping with adrenaline.

 

An arm wraps around Louis’ stomach, swallowing him backwards into the curl. He stumbles off his board, an unexpected hand coming up to his throat. With the strange body pressed against his back, he splashes back into the water. His world is stolen, but this time from the dark waters overtaking his face and blocking his vision. The hand around his throat squeezes tightly; finger nails digging deep into a vein set on the side near his left ear - almost like it’s trying to snap his neck. He struggles under the waves crashing above him to have the person release him. The water complicates his movements, making it harder to twist and thrash his body away with no floor to balance him. He wants to scream but the cold water fills his lungs before he's given a chance. He can't breathe. He can't see. He can't think. And soon his world turns black, this time, with his body falling unconscious under the water from lack of oxygen.

☼

" _Louis_ jump off!"

 

It all happens in a flash of wood. Without a cry or plea for help, Louis' body swallows under the curl, and the surfboard flies forward to crash into the unforgiving rock. Pieces of board fly up through the air, scattering around with a blood shivering noise of crunch. The dark atmosphere lifts away. The clear blue sky comes back to shine above the two boys, the waves settling back down to a normal rhythm - like nothing just happen.

 

Liam and Zayn are stilled to silence with the shattering realization their best friend has just died right in front of the two. The waves continue to roll loudly over each ragged rock, completely covering all sides and angles into blue nothingness until the ocean sucks the water back. Water seems to sing down the beach, shining with beautiful speculations of greens and blues. Liam's mouth slowly closes shut as white foam crawls gently up the sand to play with his toes. It tickles slightly, and when water retreats; some foam clumps mixed with pieces of wood are left to taunt him.

 

Liam falls to his knees with tears streaming down his face, and he punches the sand with all his might. Zayn’s right there with him, and they cry together while looking at the bits of board floating around in the water.

☼

It’s late in the afternoon when Louis wakes. His eyelids feel heavy, and the sun’s brightness doesn’t help. He sits up too fast and starts chocking on his own salvia mixed with seawater, ultimately falling back against the sand holding his stomach. All he can think of is how thirsty he is, and how his stomach grumbles for attention.

 

“Drink this.”

 

Some type of bottle is pushed into his hands, and he peeks his eyes open to notice it is water. He moans with joy, tipping the canteen back, and chugging the whole thing in a matter of minutes. It tastes different, fresher and cleaner compared to the water he’s used to at the hotel. It deems more satisfying, and he’s whining for more when he feels the canteen empty.

 

“Go fetch more,” someone on his right commands and there’s a scurrying of feet. Soon it’s quiet again, with sounds of familiar waves crashing near Louis. He brings a hand up to rub at his eyes, encouraging himself to peel them open.

 

He’s met, not with waterfront like he was expecting, but a hut. A straw hut constructed of yellow palm tree leaves and rope with a dome ceiling, perfectly curved all around him. There’s a doorway with no form of curtain or blockage, allowing sun to shine brightly into his eyes. Beyond the hut he can make out a beach, but new rocks have made their way on the shoreline.

 

He slowly takes his concentration off the beach, turning his head to stare at the boy sitting next to him. The boy appears young, but from Louis’ side view he can’t make out much of his face. He does see, however, the wild chocolate curls standing atop his head. Some strands are blowing with the mild shore wind, fluffing the curls around. The nameless boy doesn’t seem fazed about his present, instead watching the waves with a longing look. His eyebrows are crinkled together, lips set in an un-known pout – like he’s trying to model but not meaning to do so.

 

Louis doesn’t remember this person, or a name, so he awkwardly coughs to get attention. It seems to do the trick, and the boy turns his head in his direction but keeps his eyes steered towards the waves. “Yes?”

 

Not knowing how to phrase his sentence, Louis asks the first thing that he would with any stranger. “What’s your name?” his voice cracks from lack of hydration but it doesn’t sound as bad as he predicted.

 

Finally the boy looks away from the beach, locking eyes with him. Louis is honestly shocked how fluorescent green they look, almost like they hold some type of magical glow. “Harry,” he supplies, tucking his arms around his knees that hug to his broad and wide chest, “and you?” His voice is deep and caramel smooth, the words rolling off his tongue naturally slow, captivating Louis.

 

“Louis,” he says in return, scanning his eyes around the almost empty hut. The only thing other then the two boys is a craved pot sitting in the far corner. “Why am I here?”

 

Harry doesn’t answer, instead taking amusement and chuckling lowly. Louis could have sworn, or maybe it was the lighting, that the green in his eyes turned a light yellow when he laughed, however Harry turned away before he could check.

 

They sit in silence for a little while longer, and Louis would normally be the one to supply conversation. Well, that is, but he doesn’t even know why he’s here. All he remembers is having that fight with Liam and then storming down to the hotel pool.

 

There’s a rustle of leaves outside and a blonde boy pops out of nowhere holding a canteen. It looks filled to brim with liquid, and Louis automatically remembers how thirsty he is. Without question, the blonde outstretches the canteen and Louis greedily snatches it from his grip. He takes his time with it though, not choosing to chug the whole thing in one go.

 

Again, when he drinks the water, he feels uneasiness in his stomach. Before, he blamed how clean it tasted, but now it has started to affect his whole body system. “What is this?” he brings the canteen away from his lips, inspecting the inside and out.

 

“Shetica,” Harry swiftly answers, “it will help you regain the brain cells that you lost when you were under water for so long. It might have affected your memory so you probably don’t remember much.”

 

“I don’t,” Louis agrees, still questioning the weirdly named drink, “but are sure this isn’t poison?”

 

“I’m sure.”

 

“Okay then,” Louis shrugs, continuing to sip the drink. “How long was I under?”

 

Harry scrunches his nose in thought, “About five minutes. And that’s easily enough time to damage but luckily it looks like you only lost some memory.”

 

“What memory did I lose?”

 

“Just drink the shetica and you’ll know.”

 

Louis scoffs playfully, “Pushy,” but he does as he’s told. The blonde that brought the canteen has left without a word, leaving Harry and him alone again.

 

He didn’t believe the shetica would actually help him remember whatever he seemed to forget, but on the tenth sip, Louis starts to see flashes. He looks at Harry with raised eyebrows, and the boy makes a drinking motion with his hands in response.

 

Then he remembers how, after walking for what appears forever, after fighting with Liam he ended up walking out to Waltedo. He slept on the surfboard he left there and when morning came he challenged himself to go surfing. Zayn and Liam appeared out of the trees right before hand, trying to convince him not to do it because the waves looked unsafe, but he was so mad he didn’t care and dove in. That’s when –

 

The wave.

 

It hits him like the tons of rocks that he suddenly remembers he was supposed to crash into. "You're the one who chocked me!"

 

Harry’s lips form a tight line, peering down at his conjoined hands that nervously twiddle together, "I was trying to help you."

                                                                 

Louis sits up straighter, fuming with anger, "By chocking me under water!? How the fuck is that supposed to help me?"

 

The boy seems to grow frustrated; the green of his eyes hardening over to a dark red and Louis’s shocked on why they are changing colors. “Did you die?”

                                           

Taken back by the question, Louis replies, “N-no.” He meant to sound more obvious but it came out a frightened shutter.

 

“Then just be grateful I _didn’t_ kill you,” Harry growls, shooting up from the poorly constructed chair and storming out of the hut. Louis lays on the sand, staring out at the boy in confusion.

                                     

Louis decides to follow him, gathering the canteen and rushing out to the beach. He’s momentarily stunned by the beach itself, but doesn’t have time to admire it again. Harry’s standing at the water edge, not letting the ripples touch his bare toes. Louis’s still a bit confused on what just happened, so he gently eases himself so he’s next to the boy and not say a word.

 

“What were you doing on Waltedo?” Harry breaks the silent, turning to Louis again.

 

Louis isn’t an English teacher by any means, but he can’t help but question, “ _Were_?”

 

Harry doesn’t look effected, nodding his head slightly with his eyes demanding, “Yes.”

 

“Don’t you mean what _am_ I doing?”

 

The boy pouts, “No?”

 

“Wait,” Louis peers down the shore, noticing the differences of this beach and the one he was on this morning, “This isn’t Waltedo?”

 

Shaking his head once more, Harry suddenly jerks away from the water that almost touched him. “Far from it, actually.”

 

Louis grows more puzzled, and now begins to feel frightened, “What do you mean _far from it_?” he spits out the last few words, spinning around to take in the whole beach, “Where am I?”

 

There’s a pregnant pause where Louis begins to think the worst.

 

"Maybe next time you should listen to the signs." Harry answers, kicking a rock down the sand.

 

"What signs?"

 

"You were on a forbidden beach. Of course there's a reason it's _forbidden_. If you already didn’t figure it out, the wave currents always steer towards the hombas. Every surfer who tries to ride the waves always ends up crashing into them. You could have been dead right now. Be thankful I so happen to be so far away from this island at the very same time you decided to be an idiot!"

 

“Oh blah blah blah you were going to kill me any –“ Louis’ mind goes blank, reviewing what Harry just said, “did you just say island?” he looks at Harry with crinkled eyebrows. “ _Island?”_ he drags out, repeating himself, “You mean Maui right?” Harry keeps silent, staring at Louis with no expression, “ _You mean Maui_ right?” he repeats, starting to feel tears in his eyes, “No!” he suddenly screams, “Where’s Liam and Zayn?!”

                                                                 

“Liam and Zayn? I –“

 

“Tell me where I am before I call the cops!” Louis doesn’t know why he’s panicking so much, well, maybe it’s because he woke up in a strange hut with a stranger on a beach he’s never seen before on an island that _isn’t_ Maui and he doesn’t know where his friends are – and that gives you the right to freak out a little bit, right?

 

“There’s no… ‘cops’ on this island,” Harry whispers, eyes wide.

 

“Bring me back to Maui, you bastard!” Louis starts to cry freely, clutching on his own bicep. “This is a prank, right? Liam and Zayn are just hiding in the trees, _right_?” He’s growing borderline hysterical, running towards the forest and hitting the plants, trying to spot his friends, “Liam! Zayn! Tell this guy to stop playing around!” he starts laughing, checking behind each tree, “Guys c’mon! I’m sorry for what I did last night just come out!”

 

Harry stares at Louis like he’s grown four heads, opening and closing his mouth trying to form words to calm him down. But all he can do is watch as Louis’ emotions go from panicking to happy, from happy to sad and now he’s just angry.

 

Louis starts punching the trees and Harry draws the line there. “Hey!” he runs up behind the boy, grabbing his waist and pulling him back, “stop!” He hears the tree whimper from the abuse, and grips Louis’ hips harder, “you’re hurting it!”

 

“Let go of me!” Louis thrashes from Harry’s hold, kicking his legs back to attempt to kick the boy’s shins out, “get off of me! _”_

Harry drags Louis’ body out to the middle of the sand before dropping his arms, letting Louis fall to the ground. He gives up fighting, instead choosing to shield himself by crawling into a ball. Harry can’t do much but stare, deeply confused about how to handle this.

 

He waits a few minutes before speaking with a delicate tone, “are you – I mean – uh,” Harry’s eyes flick to the forest, “I didn’t mean to scare you,” Louis picks his head up from his knees, glaring at Harry and making him feel vulnerable, “I just wanted to make sure you were okay after –“

 

“Well I’m just _dandy_ ,” Louis spits, getting up from the sand and holding eye contact, “I don’t know where I am, I don’t know where my friends are. All I know is your name is Harry and I drank some weird shit and now I remember I was supposed to die and you’re making me feel even worse about it – yeah, I’m totally fine.” His tone is laced with sarcasm and it makes Harry’s insides flare. “How about this, you tell me how to get back to Maui and I’ll be on my merry way,”

 

Harry, again, stays silent. His eyes cast out over the waves, licking his lips, “There’s no way back.”

 

“You’re lying,” Louis accuses, searching Harry’s face, “why are you lying?! I just want to go back!”

 

“Well there’s no way back!” Harry raises his voice, “I’m sorry, but you’re stuck here until –“

                                                                                                

“No!” and Louis is running in the other direction, racing down the beach away from Harry. He’s going to find help.

 

Harry just lets him, knowing the boy won’t find _anything_. Eventually he’ll grow tired or end up at the scatches, and Harry knows that when he reaches those he’ll be running right back here.

 

Niall then carefully emerges from the forest, poking his head to check for Louis. With no sign of the boy, he walks up to Harry and gives him a reassuring smile. “He’ll be back,” he tries, but Harry doesn’t want any of it. He shoves the blonde aside and marches to the village. When he’s about to descend into the pathway, he looks back behind his shoulder, “when he comes back, tell him there’s a hut waiting for him,” and he disappears.

☼

Harry was right. Well, Louis doesn’t know he knew he would be back, but he is. There’s no other life around the island excluding the occasional sea animal.

 

If Louis is smart about this situation, he could live off Harry’s food sources until he thinks of a plan. For right now, his stomach needs nutrition. All he’s had today was that weird water and the hunger pains are starting to increase with nightfall. Who even knows what this island holds at night, maybe wildebeest that are waiting for innocent boys like Louis to kill for supper. The best bet, and Louis hates to admit this, is to trust Harry and go back.

 

Louis begins his journey back to the hut on the beach, but other than that he doesn’t know where Harry could be. When he finally reaches the location, there’s no sign of the curly headed boy – and he begins to panic. There are sounds coming from the forest, different things that make his skin crawl uncomfortably.

 

One particular noise has him yelping like an injured animal, cowering back into the now completely dark hut. The noise grows closer, and Louis can feel his heartbeat increasing with every step the creature makes. It’s too dark on the beach to see anything, the only thing Louis can make out are the waves that catch the moonlight.

 

Suddenly, there’s a bright light held in front of Louis’ face. It’s not that big actually, and it’s orange, red and bright yellow.

 

“Hey,” and the fire has a voice apparently, “I don’t know about you but it’s too cold to stay out here by yourself all night.”

 

Louis squints in the semi darkness and he makes out that the fire is being held on a stick, accompanied by the blonde who brought him the canteen earlier. “If you want, we got sturdier shelters, they could keep you warm.”

 

Louis catches the boy’s face now, and he’s instantly relaxed by the inviting smile, he’s still fearful nonetheless, and decides it’s best not to talk. He quickly nods, as he does so the blonde clears the doorway of the hut for him to step out.

 

It’s best if he just goes with whatever Harry and the mysterious blonde have planned. Maybe they’re actually going to protect him and not kill him – or eat him for dinner. Really, there’s no telling how these will people act. No cops? That struck a nerve in Louis to say ‘okay this is obviously not a normal civilization with no government, Louis turn around before you get killed’, but it doesn’t seem so. The blonde doesn’t look at him like he wants to eat him and Harry didn’t appear as if he was trying to harm him – but really, what murderers give a warning before they kill?

 

Wordless, Louis hesitantly follows the boy with the torch to the border of forest dividing beach from land. He stands at the separation line, looking back at the waves and trying to think of an idea that maybe he could just stick it out in the hut all night instead of trusting his life with these strangers.

 

“Well, are you coming?”

 

Louis tears his focus from the waves, nodding to the blonde and stepping on the pathway.

 

“Watch that branch,” blondie informs and Louis picks his left foot up higher to avoid tripping at the last second, “these damn trees need to learn not to grow on the path,” he mumbles. A branch so happens to fall on his head as he says that. Louis watches curiously as the boy begins swearing at the tree and even more branches and leaves fall on him. “Fine! Fine, I take it back grow wherever you like!” he turns to Louis and chuckles lowly, “I swear these things take everything so seriously.”

 

Louis doesn’t know what to say, this boy thinks the tree is _alive_ , so he just ducks his gaze to the ground.

 

The two continue through the forest with the boy’s light guiding them. After a few awkward minutes the blonde speaks up, “I’m Niall by the way.”

 

Looking at the boy – Niall – Louis just smiles tightly, but doesn’t respond.

 

“Aw I don’t get to hear you talk?” he jokes, turning left to another path, “too bad. Well, I know your name already – Louis right? That’s a funny name. I know I’m not one to talk, ‘cause of my own name, but I’ve never heard of yours. Well, maybe that’s because this island doesn’t have much creativity when it comes to picking names, but whatever. Where are you from? Oh, wait, you aren’t talking. Well I just hope I don’t scare you, I’m not a scary person. I might scare you with my fishing ability – ‘cause I’m the best fisher here – but…“

 

And Louis decides at that moment he likes Niall. He lets the boy keep talking on their way to wherever they are going, nodding along at some points and just waiting for a chance to speak, however Niall doesn’t look like he’s stopping anytime soon, perfectly happy with basically talking to himself.

 

“…and I should probably tell you a little bit about our village. See, we got a strict rule of ‘no hunting each other’ otherwise anything goes. Honestly it’s not that bad. I don’t know what you’re used to, wherever you come from, but here, we live pretty easily. Just don’t stick a spear in anyone and you’re fine. Basically all the people you need to know are me – my name’s Niall, just in case you forgot, Harry, - he’s the chief, kind of, his parents just passed so he’s in charge, Danielle, - she’s the main cook, a really nice girl, Olly, - I actually wouldn’t try to talk to him, he has a bad temper, and then anyone else you’ll eventually meet, because there’s a lot of names to remember, but those are your main people. You don’t have to stick with me by the way, Harry just wanted me to make sure you didn’t kill yourself out there, not that there’s much to kill yourself over. This island is pretty harmless, the only things you have to worry about are the scatches down on the other end, but you probably won’t be going near them any time soon.”

 

Niall comes to a stop, looking back at Louis with a wide smile, “and one more thing before we turn - don’t be afraid of us, yeah? We aren’t going to kill you. Harry made sure everyone knew about your situation, so if you don’t want to tell anyone something then just don’t answer because they know the main gist of it already. Now that you know all that,” he motions for Louis to turn at the tree corner, extending his arm to point to the huge arrangement of huts, “this is home.”

 

Louis can faintly detect the sound of rushing water and distant chatter. His eyes are able to pick up the huge bon fire glowing in the center of the village, all sorts of people surrounding it. Some girls are carrying baskets and laughing, other younger boys are chasing each other in a game of tag. Niall wears this huge smile that screams of how proud he is of his village – or technically, not _his_ , but he’s one of the most important hunters that maintain the place.

 

Louis grows nervous, playing with the waistband of his swim trunks. Apparently, everyone knows about him and how he ‘broke the rules of the forbidden beach’. Will he be shunned? Hated?

 

“Come on, now.”

 

Louis didn’t even notice how Niall has stepped a few meters in front of him, gesturing for him to continue walking. With a deep breath, he takes a step and follows him again.

 

Every step or two, Niall peeks over his shoulder to make sure the new boy hasn’t run off, just to assure his safety. Louis looks upset to say the least – out of place would actually be the correct use of words.

 

Compared to Niall’s strong and humorous, generally good nature, Louis looks like a crumpled up old piece of paper left alone in the trash bin. Maybe it won’t be so bad, he tries to tell himself, and maybe these people are as funny as Niall and won’t make Louis feel weird. Usually, Louis is great at making new friends, but right now he misses his real friends.

 

Who knows where they are or if they even know he’s okay. Louis pictures Liam crying, or maybe after their fight he doesn’t care. What if Liam and Zayn just went back to the hotel like nothing happened? No, they wouldn’t do that. They’re getting help, he just knows it. Soon he’ll be back to Maui or even better, his real home – the home with the old couch and the too squeaky floorboards he’s been meaning to replace, but right now he misses them a lot.

 

Something knocks the wind out of Louis, making him fall back against the ground with a groan. Niall’s right by his side the next second, placing a hand on his back and helping him sit up. Louis blinks a few times, peering up to see a little boy who looks more than guilty, “I’m sorry mister, I didn’t mean to run into you I was playing pio.” His little bottom lip wobbles and Louis smiles warmly.

 

“It’s alright Jim,” Niall answers for him instead, ruffling the boy’s hair and telling him to go back to his friends. Jim’s frown vanishes in a blink and he scampers back to the other boys.

 

“How about,” Niall extends a hand and Louis takes it in order to be lifted up, “you get some rest and join us for breakfast tomorrow? You look beat.”

 

Louis nods in appreciation, letting Niall guide him to the rows of huts that look homier than the one on the beach. Each one has some sort of curtain or arrangement of beads to block view from the outside. The pathway between each hut is like a street, with fire torches to help guide your step because Niall doesn’t seem to have his hand held torch anymore. The two boys pass another group of kids, who look like they are trying to rush off somewhere, and Niall warns one girl to be careful with her lole – whatever that is.

 

“Okay,” Niall stops in front of a blue painted hut, “this is yours. Mine is the light blue one three huts down,” he looks back and points to said hut, “everyone’s going to be heading to sleep soon, so we won’t be up to disturb you much longer. Just – uh,” he seems to falter, “just don’t come out until after sunrise, yeah?”

 

“Why?” Louis wonders.

 

“You talked!” he laughs, but goes back to answering his question, “Why? It’s just – you wouldn’t understand. Harry’s better at explaining those things. Tomorrow, if you want to know any more about this island, he’s the man to ask. Well, I don’t want to keep you all night. Have a good sleep, Louis! Welcome to Simboya!”

 

Simboya, hm.

 

Niall waves him goodbye, turning to walk down the stretch of huts and out of sight. Louis looks around, his stomach grumbling loudly to painfully remind him that he’s still hungry as hell and can’t sleep without food.

 

He wants to call out for Niall to come back but the blonde boy is out of sight – and he definitely doesn’t want to bring attention to himself, so he starts walking towards the pink colored huts down the stretch, hoping to find that Danielle girl Niall was talking about earlier. Maybe she could give him some spare food that no one ate so he wouldn’t be much of a bother.

 

What was he thinking? Pink doesn’t necessarily imply a girl lives in that hut and all the curtains are draped closed, so that doesn’t help. And now he’s on a different road of huts and doesn’t know where his own is – there are actually a lot more huts than he expected. Great, now he’s lost and hungry.

 

As he’s mentally freaking out, speed walking towards the end of the stretch, a girl steps out of her hut and Louis bumps her shoulder. “Oh!” she exclaims, “sorry I didn’t see you.”

 

Louis mumbles an apology, still nervous to speak to the natives. His stomach growls even louder, catching the girl’s attention.

 

“You sound hungry,” she laughs and points to his stomach. He frantically nods, really happy she caught on. “Would you want some fruit? I have some left over from today’s harvest.” Again, he nods and she motions to the pink hut she just emerged from.

 

She pulls back the assorted beads the hang from the door, granting him access inside. Louis can honestly say these huts look way larger than the one for the beach, big enough to hold two beds and a mini round table. On the table, there’s a hand woven basket with grapefruits and oranges that make Louis’ mouth water. “I’ve never seen you around before,” she picks up an orange and hands it over, sitting on one of the beds, “are you from North Island?”

 

He digs his fingernails into the fruit, peeling back the skin and putting the peels on his lap for right now as he starts to eat, “No,” he sucks on the juice, “I – I um.”

 

“Oh!” she abruptly exclaims, her lips curling into another smile, “you must be that foreigner Chief was talking about, am I right?”

 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Louis detaches an orange slice and pops it into his mouth. “My name isn’t foreigner, though, it’s Louis.”

 

“I love that name,” she moves her hair behind her ear, “I feel like it suits you. If you care to know my name is Eleanor.” She rakes her eyes over his body, eyes turning a sudden shade of black, but Louis doesn’t notice this, too engrossed by his orange.

                                                               

“Nice to meet you,” he says with a mouthful of orange, making her giggle.

 

They sit in relative silence as he finishes a few more oranges and sets a grapefruit aside to take it back to his hut. There’s a noise outside on the pathway and Eleanor pouts her lips, “well it’s time for everyone to sleep. I’m guessing I’ll see you tomorrow?”

 

“Yeah, I’ll be around,” he picks up his grapefruit and doesn’t know if he should shake her hand as a goodbye, instead settling on a simple “good night” as he pushes the beads out of his way to exit.

 

He sees a glimpse of blonde hair as he leaves Eleanor’s hut, knowing that it’s Niall. He follows the boy to the other row of huts and he smiles as he spots his own. Soon he’s standing in front of it, peeling back the curtain and stepping inside. It’s dark, and he can’t make out much of it, so he opens the curtain to let the torch light shine inside, inspecting the room.

 

There’s a hay bed with no blanket or pillow and a rock carved flat to make a table. Louis shrugs, knowing by now that Simboya isn’t equipped with his everyday essentials back at home, and he’s starting to think he has been taking those things for granted. This place doesn’t even have electricity – no light bulbs or anything – but at least it’s warm enough that Louis doesn’t need a blanket. He’s perfectly fine crawling up into a ball – and that’s what he does, falling asleep to the sounds of outside.

☼

There’s a lot of commotion coming from the stretch when Louis wakes. He can faintly make out Niall’s loud voice, mixed with other men and women probably preparing for the day. It’s past sunrise, due to the fact there’s sunlight streaming through his curtains and lighting up the hut. Now that he has light, he notices there’s a painting set atop his rock table, definitely handcrafted. It’s nothing elaborate, just simple lines of different swipes of color, but Louis can pick up that the artist was trying to create waves.

 

Something, or rather someone, knocks into his curtain and makes it rattle. A quick ‘sorry!’ is announced then the person continues on walking. Louis sighs, knowing he’s going to have to step outside, and cracks his back while swinging out his legs.

 

He waits a few moments, hovering by the doorway and thinking of things he could say to someone who strikes up a conversation. Should he tell them about where he’s from? No, they probably won’t know. _Just keep everything a mystery - keep them guessing and don’t tell them all your information until you’re sure you can trust them,_ he reminds himself.

 

Okay yes, these people gave him shelter and unknowingly just let him join their village, but still.

 

Louis peels back the curtain, tentatively looking out at the stretch. If he expected anyone to notice him, he was wrong. Everyone looks preoccupied, either carrying a basket filled with fruits or a sack over their shoulder that smells of fish. There’s people laughing and others yawning, but looking up at the sky Louis can tell its around 10 or 2, depending if the sun is setting or rising, but he’ll make a fair guess and say 10.

 

He sees Niall at the end of the stretch, face serious and someone whispering in his ear. The guy pulls back, nodding curtly before walking away and leaving the blonde looking irritated. That look doesn’t look good on Niall.

 

Deciding to give the perceptibly annoyed Niall some time, Louis ducks out the other way, heading towards the smell of food. Like before, no one gives him a second glance, maybe one or two girls but otherwise nothing unordinary.

☼

 Within the next few days, the rain comes, drenching the island in sheets of falling water. The water runs down the roofs of the huts, pulling hay with it, and spills on the path. Louis curses as the rain starts dripping through the ceiling, and knows there’s not much he can do. However he doesn’t want the hut to suffer due to his laziness to get up, so he sets out to find Harry or Niall. The two haven’t made presence much since he’s gotten used to the routine – wake up, harvest, cut fruit, eat, swim, eat again, bonfire, bed – and he has no idea where to find them. As he pulls back his curtain, he bends his knees a bit to peer up to the sky, judging how hard it’s pouring. The rain has let up from this morning, so he takes a breath and darts out of his hut.

 

No one’s out on the path – absolutely nobody. It’s dead silent, which is strange for Louis. He’s used to noise everywhere, children playing and adults always commuting around, but as he looks around under his hand that shields his eyes, he can’t make out anyone. He jogs towards Niall’s hut, which he faintly remembers from the first day, and awkwardly knocks on the outside straw. “Who’s there?” calls from inside.

 

“Louis,” he answers, tapping his foot impatiently. He’s getting soaked and these are his only clothes.

 

“One second!” There’s rustling, a bang, then followed by whispers – indicating someone is in there with Niall. Louis looks over his shoulder at the chance there would be another person running through the path, but again he’s met with nothing. “Come in, before ya get drenched!”

 

“Little late on that,” Louis pulls away the beads, quickly stepping inside. The huts on Simboya don’t have indoor heating, Niall however has a fire going so Louis’ wet and freezing skin instantly warms up.

 

Harry’s there, sitting cross legged on the floor looking like a small child, smiling at Louis as he walks in. Niall’s hut is bigger than his, with the room for a fire and extra storage. Niall is playing with the logs of the fire, trying to make it spark up to its full potential but the rain floating in the air doesn’t help. “Hi,” Louis breathes out.

 

There’s a tension hanging in the air that makes Louis feel as if he’s not supposed to be in Niall’s hut. Harry barely speaks a word whereas Niall jumps in, asking how life has been getting adapted to Simboya. Louis eventually settles down next to Harry, forgetting the leak he came to ask about, and answers his questions.

 

“Tell us about where you came from,” Niall sits down on his bed, a look of fascination across his face, “you’re not from an island, are you?”

 

“No, far from it,” Louis laughs, feeling Harry’s eyes bore into his side, “I live in a small city in Maine – there’s this saying, ‘it’s a town pretending to be a city’, and that describes it perfectly. No one pushes you to the ground for a taxi or honks at you for letting some people cross the street. And there’s a huge park where I would go study or bounce a ball around between classes.”

 

“We have a school in our biggest hut on the south side,” Harry finally speaks up, rubbing his hands along his legs, “once the children of one generation are finished learning, they’re taught how to fish then the island waits for more children to be born. Usually all the mothers plan to have kids around the same time, so they can have a group to play with. What’s your schooling like?”

 

“Well, it depends on what you consider schooling,” Louis gets to look into Harry’s deep green eyes, triggering something inside him. Harry is naturally gorgeous, and while Louis is not usually the one to think that about a boy, he can’t help it when looking at the chief. “I had a school where I went from grades, kindergarten to eighth grade, because my school district was so small, then I went to high school. After four years there, I went to university during the fall and spring semester and I mostly work or travel during summer. My professor – actually - suggested I visit an island with like lots of access to marine studies so Hawaii was my first choice.”

 

“It is beautiful here,” Niall smiles, “where you come from sounds awesome but I wouldn’t trade Simboya for the world. My great-grandparents were one of the first generations on this island.”

 

“Do you know if they were the parental or F1 generation?” Louis curiously asks, throwing a stone to see if Niall had any clue what he was talking about. The boy however looks at him like a madman. “Never mind, sorry. Just wondering is all.”

 

“No, what were you just talking about? It sounds interesting.”

 

“Well, I’m studying to be a biologist, so I look at things from the biology stand-point. Like, from what you’re saying, our great-grandparents sounds like the F1 generation, or the offspring of the first ever parents of Simboya. Or were they the first ever humans on this island?”

 

Niall looks at Harry with a nervous sideways glance, but without letting Louis ask, he continues answering, “I’ve never heard of a generation before them but I’m guessing they had to have parents. So the F1 then?”

 

“Well, also we never know when the humans started producing on this island,” Louis smiles, “so they could’ve been the F5 generation for all we know. Everything comes from a past ancestor and humans are believed to be evolved from a monkey species, so who knows. Maybe your great, great, great, great-grandmother evolved from a chimpanzee.”

 

“Do you think you’d be up for teaching the children some of what you’re saying?” Harry interrupts, clearly fascinated and fully turned towards Louis, “We’re limited of what we can teach here, ‘cause of our lack of proper books and teachers, but you, wow,” his smile shines within the dim hut, “you’re amazing.”

 

Louis blushes, “In my university, I’m not that amazing, it’s just a basic knowledge of biology.”

 

“But if you think about,” Niall adds from behind Louis, “we have no idea what biology is. You can really help us, if you want of course.”

 

This is Louis’ chance to bond with the natives. How could he say no to this opportunity to be recognized as something great?

 

“I’ll do it.”

☼ 

Every day is like an adventure every kid can only dream of – in a literal sense. Simboya is something out of a fantasy book, or what Louis would have considered a fantasy book as a child. He has always been awed over science, his biggest idol being Charles Darwin. Ever since he had learned about the man’s five year journey traveling the world to explore nature, Louis’s dreamt of living a similar life as he did, but with modern technology his studies could be increased tenfold. As Louis explores Simboya alone during the afternoons, when he’s done with classes with the children and most fruits are sorted and being cut for dinner, he has time to walk along the beach and through the forest.

 

He can’t help but pay special attention to the animals he comes across, wanting badly to write down his findings in a journal like Darwin, but figures it wouldn’t matter. Darwin’s _Origin of Species_ has already inspired thousands of biologist and evolutionists to carry on researching and discovering new land and evolving species. Although, Simboya doesn’t seem like the island to have boat access to the “main land” as Louis has been told it’s called. Who knows when he’s going home – he could be stuck here forever.

 

It’s when the sun is touching the water with dusk about two weeks after living on Simboya that Louis finally accepts he might not be going anywhere.

☼

It’s quiet - besides the gentle patter of feet coming from the others of the village. Louis hums lowly, distracted by the different plants spiking up from the ground to pay a care to the world around him.

 

Then his world flips.

 

Ten beings jump out of the trees and Louis is the only one who spots them. He freezes in place, automatically knowing these people aren’t from this village. They’re dressed in black leather, huge knives hanging from their belt with dangerous looking weapons in their hands. The black makes the warriors blend into the shade of forest, giving them a sort of covering.

 

The tribe doesn’t see Louis as he runs behind a rock, blocking any view of his body. He starts to panic, knowing he should warn Harry or Niall or Olly but they went out fishing. Only some girls and children are walking around, unknown to the warriors. _Oh god, the kids. If they decide to run out here they’ll be killed!_

 

Louis does the only thing he can think of, and he starts making an owl noise to try and signal someone. _Okay, this is never going to work, no one knows the owl probably and thinks it’s just another weird animal –_

 

There’s a hand on his mouth, a chest pressing against him from behind. Louis’ expression turns to one of fear and he starts screaming, but the hand muffles it.

 

“Louis, be quiet, please.”

 

The voice in his ear soothes his thrashing and the thoughts of being kidnapped are wiped from his mind. Harry releases his hand, turning Louis around and pinning him against the rock. He puts a finger to his lips to warn Louis to be silent, straightening up to look beyond the rock to the warriors that have yet to attack. They are just huddled together, discussing something that gives Harry time to think.

 

“Get back to your hut,” Harry whispers so quietly Louis could barely register it, “be as quiet as you can and don’t let them see you.”

 

“Harry what’s going on?” Louis breathes out, mind jumbled and nervous.

 

“Just go!” He frantically whispers, pointing to the row of huts where Niall and the others are silently guiding everyone to the safety of their homes, “I don’t have time to deal with this.”

 

“But I want to help,” Louis tries to defend himself, craning his neck to look over the rock with Harry.

 

The chief grows frustrated and he grips Louis’ shoulders, pushing him aside. “What I say is law! Now do as you’re told –“ an arrow shoots towards Harry, barely missing his face - that’s when it starts.

 

Harry shouts something in a foreign language, and before Louis can blink, Niall and thirty other village men are lunging into action.

 

Louis is shocked into stillness, not moving from his current position he was pushed to. He watches as Harry is handed a spear and goes forth to attack. One of the black suited warriors stabs Olly in the arm, momentarily making the boy fall to the ground while yelping in pain. The warrior looks up from the injured Olly, locking eyes with Louis who’s panting heavily.

 

Louis takes that as a motivation to try and get up, looking back to Harry before sprinting to the row of huts. He’s still in shock, complicating his movements and his vision.

 

There’s a sharp sting of pain on his left bicep.

 

Everything becomes blurry - all he hears are screams and war shouts. He tries to continue, tries to find his hut, but all the colors are starting to blend together in a beautiful fashion and he smiles lazily. “Louis!” there’s a voice in his ear, but it sounds as if the person is miles away. He starts to slow down, blinking rapidly and gasping for air. He collapses to the ground, struggling to crawl.

 

He finally gives up on moving entirely, the thought of sleep instead clouds his mind. He peers down to his bicep, noticing a dart piercing his skin and releasing venom without a doubt.

 

There’s a body squatting in front of him, and he doesn’t hear what they say. The last thing he picks up is the feeling of being lifted up over a shoulder, before his eyes flutter shut.

☼

“He’s too dangerous to keep around!”

 

“Olly –“

 

“ _No_! I almost lost my arm because of him! Face it Harry! Now that everyone knows he’s here, we’re in serious danger! North Island hasn’t attacked us in _years_ and now they want –“

 

Louis groans from where he’s lying, his sleep disturbed. The voices hush immediately, and the boy rolls over to face where he heard them. He blinks down, noticing his left bicep has a bandage wrapped around with a sticky substance underneath. Propping himself on his elbows, he inspects the bandage and now sees his shirt has been removed, leaving him only in his worn out swim trunks.

 

“Glad to see you’re awake.”

 

Niall smiles down at him, holding out a canteen for Louis to drink. Louis’ eyes flicker around the abnormally huge hut, spotting Harry and Olly sitting across from each other at the far end. Neither of the boys smile at him and Louis notices Olly’s arm in a makeshift cast created by leaves.

 

“We’re not finished,” Olly seethes towards Harry before storming out of the hut, throwing the curtain open with so much force the whole hut shakes.

 

Harry sighs loudly, running a hand through his curls. Niall looks apologetic, shooting the chief a half smile. Louis crinkles his eyebrows together, “What were you guys talking about?”

 

“Nothing,” Harry answers too quick and sharp, instantly regretting how forced that sentence came out. “Niall can you –“ he motions to the door and the blonde nods. With one more smile sent towards Louis, Niall exits, leaving Harry and Louis alone.

 

“How are you feeling?” Harry starts, standing from his chair to come over to Louis. He sits himself down at the end of the hay bed, his facial features looking tired and there’s a cut near his right eye.

 

“I’m fine,” Louis looks down at his bandage for a brief second before looking over Harry, “you don’t look so good.”

 

“Yeah, well that’s what happens when you fight against a knife with a flimsy spear,” he chuckles lowly, scratching the inside of his thigh, “not the best protection.” When he goes to reach for something behind the bed, Louis gasps.

 

“Harry you’re hurt,” he scoots closer to the boy, running his fingers along the cotton material that has a huge blood stain running along the bottom of his back. Harry slightly flinches from the touch, but allows Louis to pull up the shirt. There’s a big gash from some type of knife, it looks raw and mean with nothing to treat it, “why didn’t you get this looked at?”

 

“Tasha is busy tending the others that have more serious injuries,” Louis probes his finger around the swollen flesh and Harry winces from pain. “I need to let them get healed first before me, it’s my job as chief to make sure everyone else is taken care of.”

 

“That doesn’t mean you should deprive yourself of the medicine,” with one last look, he drops his hand, “I’ll clean you up, yeah?”

 

“You need rest,” Harry warns, “That dart was poison and it drained your body of its strength. All you need to do is sleep and –“

 

“Harry, it’s just a flesh wound. I’m not going to be performing surgery. It’s really simple to do, so just lay down and just let someone take care of you for once.” Louis stands from the bed, pointing for Harry to do as he said.

 

The chief rolls his eyes, but flips on his stomach nonetheless so his gash is visible. Louis grabs the canteen with a soft aloe leaf and some bandage from the table besides the bed. He places the items down, situating himself cross-legged on Harry’s side. The chief turns his head, letting his curls fall to the side and stares at Louis as he lifts the shirt up. “This needs to come off,” Louis mutters, gently pulling the shirt up. Harry lifts his chest up, the shirt slides up and is thrown to the floor, leaving both boys with bare chests.

 

Lying back down, Louis grabs the aloe leaf and daps it with shetica. Harry stares at his face instead of his hands, admiring Louis’ side profile as the boy concentrates. Louis has four younger sisters at home, he’s dealt with scrapes before, with his clumsy younger self always pushing the girls to the ground and regretting it instantly afterwards, but he has never had magical water as a healer. He stares at the wound, the skin lightly beating with Harry’s heart and producing more and more blood as he waits. There are little black dots on Harry’s blood, however, that catches Louis’ attention. Is Harry sick? Does he already have a blood disease on top of this?

 

To further investigate, Louis daps the wounded skin with the aloe leaf, letting some blood seep in and spread throughout it. However as soon as the blood meets the shetica, the black dots vanish. Louis blinks, questioning if his eye sight is going.

 

“Are you alright?” Harry questions him, his voice wavering. His eyes haven’t left Louis’ face the whole time, and he’s worried what Louis might be thinking.

 

Louis tries dabbing the wound again, and once he pulls back the leaf, the blood turns clear red – almost as if it’s healing the blood itself. “You’re not sick, are you?”  

 

“No,” the chief shakes his curls, “there’s not a lot of sickness that runs on Simboya. The shetica does a good job of clearing anything up.”

 

“So this water,” Louis drags out.

 

“It’s more like a juice.”

 

“This juice,” Louis corrects himself, “is a potion, you’re saying. Like, I could feed it to a sick animal and it will go through its body system to find what’s wrong and fix it?”

 

Harry bites the inside of his cheek, thinking how he would describe it, “In those terms, I’d say it is a ‘potion’. When you lost your memory, it helped you restore what you forgot to a degree, but it can’t make everything appear as if nothing was wrong in the first place.”

 

The boy stores Harry’s words in the back of his mind, and refocuses on the gash. After staring at it for another minute or two, he abandons the leaf and starts to carefully pour the canteen of shetica on Harry’s injured skin. The wound forms a clear coating around the blood ridden flesh, then Louis watches as Harry’s skin started to morph. His eyes widen as the blood sinks back into his body, then skin slowly crawls its way to cover the opening. He doesn’t count how many minutes it takes, but when there’s only a scar left of what used to be a full cut, Louis can’t stop gawking.

 

“I’ve never – do you know how this could change the world if hospitals…” he looks up with the same sheer amazement as he watched the shetica work, but notices Harry is asleep. He looks behind himself at the doorway, seeing darkness through the cracks of the curtain. When he suggested he care for Harry’s wound, it had been midday.

 

Louis sets down the canteen beside the bed, ready to get up and make his way back to his own hut. He’s met with difficulty as his legs that have gone numb, refuse him to walk correctly. He’s also faced with dizziness, probably due to the poison still circulating through his body.

 

A hand grabs his wrist before he could step a foot away and he’s gently pulled onto Harry’s makeshift bed. The boy only moves closer to the wall before falling fast asleep once more, leaving Louis in a situation. He doesn’t know how it would look to the other villagers if someone found him in bed with Harry, their leader. Would it mean something? Nothing perhaps? Louis has no other reason to believe otherwise, so he closes his eyes and surprisingly falls asleep easily – staring at magical medicine must’ve tired him out.

☼

The next day Louis wakes up to a humming by his ears. At first it sounds distant, but as he becomes more alert, he realizes it’s coming from right behind his head. He carefully shifts his body so his chest is facing the ceiling, his eyes rotating to land on Harry – an almost naked Harry at that. The chief continues to hum a song as he sews a beat-up looking shirt, with only small briefs covering his crotch.

 

“Good morning,” Harry unexpectedly greets him, picking his gaze up off the shirt to look into Louis’ eyes. “I wanted to make sure you’d be alright after yesterday,” he brings a thin piece of thread up to his mouth and bites on it gently, causing it to break into two pieces.

 

“You didn’t have to wait up,” Louis laughs lightly, rubbing his eyes. As his elbow glides along his bare chest, he notices he too hardly wears any clothing. “Did you strip me when I was sleeping?”

 

A sudden pink tint rises on Harry’s pale cheeks, “well, yes, but I did ‘cause sometime this morning – uh,” he seems to have trouble putting his words together, “you started groaning and I thought you were in pain, then started rubbing your body against the bed and after a minute or two you relaxed. When you rolled over there was a wet stain on the front of your pants so I –“

 

“ _What_?” Louis cries, bringing his hands up to cover his face in complete embarrassment, “I don’t, I’ve never – wow I’m so sorry that’s so fucking – _oh my god_ I should go –“ Louis hurriedly stands up, now understanding the dried white stain on his briefs. He had a wet dream _when he was in bed with another guy_ , let alone Harry – who _does_ that?

 

Again, before he can make it far Harry grabs his arm to calmly pull him back, “Louis please,” he chuckles, handing over a pair of shorts that are different from the ones he was wearing last night, “don’t feel you need to leave. It’s a natural desire within men –“

 

The boy takes the shorts and swiftly slides them up his thighs, “I am _not_ getting the birds and the bees talk from you, please. I’m just really sorry,” Louis sighs, thinking he’s ruined him and Harry’s friendship without even trying. Harry is a very sweet guy who probably loves girls as much as Louis, and now he’s going to think Louis had some sort of fetish to sleeping in the same bed as him. Awesome.  

 

“You don’t need to apologize,” Harry shakes his head with a smile, “it didn’t freak me out.”

 

Louis looks him straight in the eye for the first time that morning, “it didn’t?”

 

He shrugs his shoulders, “it happens to all of us every once in a while.”

 

The smaller boy crosses his arms over his chest, “yeah when you’re _twelve_.”

 

“It doesn’t matter what age,” Harry laughs lowly, finishing up his shirt he was repairing, “you were just aroused, that’s all.”

 

All the apologizes in the world could not sum up how mortified Louis feels that this had to happen with Harry sleeping next to him. “I’m so sorry,” is all he can think to say.

 

“It’s fine, we’re fine,” Harry reassures him, and he slips on the shirt he was sewing, grinning for a job well done. There are no sleeves to the shirt, showing Harry’s distinct arm muscles and it’s a bit tight around his stomach, which gives Louis a clear view of his abs. Why is his mouth dry all the sudden?

 

“I – uh, um,” Louis can’t peal his eyes away from Harry’s chest, this is a problem, “I’m thirsty.”

 

Luckily Harry has no access to the internet and doesn’t realize what that phrase could have meant. He points to a canteen sitting by the bed instead, “you’re probably still dehydrated from the poison. Tasha said your symptoms should be gone in the next few hours.”

 

Louis gratefully chugs at the water, trying to wake himself up from this nightmare. Why does he find Harry’s upper body attractive? He’s never looked at another boy as good-looking _and_ on top of that, out of all the nights he’s slept on Simboya, he has to have a wet dream in Harry’s bed. Great way to start the day.

 

“I need a bath,” Louis declares, ‘ _I feel dirty_ ’ almost comes out but he keeps that in. He offers the chief his now half empty canteen, but Harry politely shakes his head no.

 

“You should eat something though, Niall was here about a half hour ago and he brought some fish if you’d like.”

 

Louis looks around Harry’s hut out of curiosity, and answers, “sure.”

 

As Harry gets up off the bed to fetch him fish, Louis takes a deep breath. The only reason he can think of to why he’s attracted to Harry is because there are no decent girls on Simboya. Harry is undoubtedly striking – he has a face that could make a girl fall to her knees with a body to match. Louis has never had a chance to try anything with the same sex, maybe…

 

No, absolutely not, Louis can’t put those thoughts in his head because then it’ll make it even more awkward between the two boys. He’s just getting onto good grounds with Harry, he doesn’t need to fuck it up with his horny teenager imagination.

 

Harry steps back through the curtain of his hut at that moment, a wrapped fish in one hand and the other holding a full canteen. “Everyone is just getting back from the harvest, so if you want to teach after this you can. But the kids have been told that you need a few days to rest, so it’s your choice.”

 

“I think I’m more than okay,” Louis watches Harry put the fish down on the makeshift rock table, “you didn’t have to serve me, I would’ve ate with everyone else.”

 

“Eh,” Harry shrugs his shoulders, looking back at Louis with that stupid smile, “doesn’t matter at this point, it’s already here.” With that he pulls back the leaf covering, revealing salmon fresh out of the ocean – smell included.

 

“You eat raw salmon?" Louis asks, with skepticism clear in his tone.

 

"Of course. That's the only fish available from the ocean that Machaba will allow us."

 

"I mean - you don't freeze it first? Cut it? Cook it?" Louis almost gags as Harry uses his hands to tear apart the fish – alright, maybe he does gag.

 

Harry pays him no attention, takes a piece of the fish and happily puts it in his mouth, "freeze it? I’ve never heard of that."

 

Louis stares at the fish with wide eyes, "you’ve never froze fish before?"

 

The chief shakes his head, gesturing for Louis to eat some.

 

"All you need is ice, or something cold," Louis says, still gaping at the fish, “it’s just, there’s these tapeworms that could be in raw salmon. They’ll fuck up your insides.”

 

“It only gets cold in the ocean sometimes.”

 

_Yeah, at the way bottom,_ but instead Louis of saying anything he nods his head, with “huh, interesting”.

 

“Are you not going to eat?”

“I don’t think I could swallow it down,” the boy scratches the back of his neck, “I mean, I usually eat it after it’s been cooked at the bonfire at the end of the day.”

 

“Maybe if we make a deal with the ocean, then it could make us ice and we’ll freeze it like you said.”

 

Louis gives Harry a weird look, but laughs at his nonsense, "the ocean isn’t alive Harry."

 

The boy gives him an incredulous look back, "everything is alive."

 

"Not water."

☼ 

“I’m so sorry!” Louis covers his eyes with humiliation for the second time that day and makes a turn to leave the bathing pool. The water has a thick cloud of steam, cutting off him seeing any details, but he can make out two heads of familiar curls.

 

“Louis!” Harry sounds panicked, looking towards Danielle, then back to the boy “what are you doing here at this hour?”

 

Louis scrambles for words, “um I’m sorry – I – uh – I was taking a walk and I tripped on some mud so I wanted to wash it off.”

 

“Well you can’t be here –“

 

“Harry calm down, would you?” Danielle pauses as if giving Harry a look, “why don’t you join us?” she directs her attention to Louis.

 

Louis chokes on air, “are you suggesting we have a threesome?!”

 

“What on earth is that?” Danielle looks appalled, twisting her wet curls and squeezing the excess water out.

 

“Wait,” Louis removes his hand but keeps his eyes shielded shut, “what are you guys doing?”

 

“Bathing?” Harry replies with a hint of hysteria, silently hinting that Louis should leave without saying it directly.

 

“You two aren’t –?“

 

Danielle gasps in realization, covering herself like she’s being burned, “What?!” she squawks, “You’re perverted!”

 

“No!” he tries to save himself, “no, but where I come from – um –“ he falters on his words, “when I’m naked, in a pool, with a girl that’s _also_ naked, well –“

 

“That’s repulsive,” she picks herself up from the pool’s edge and there’s a sizzle that Louis questions, but he doesn’t have time to ask before she hastily wraps a makeshift towel leaf around her body.

 

“So you’re saying you wouldn’t – with Harry I mean –“

 

“Why would I have sex with a chief?’ she shakes her head dumbfounded, “sex is for marriage!”

 

“Oh great, I’m on a Christian island,” Louis mumbles and both the natives don’t hear him. “But you, like, when you’re attracted to someone, do you at least kiss them?”

 

“Of course, that’s natural,” Harry supplies, scratching a vein running down his neck nervously, “but I can’t go kiss any person I want. I’m chief, I have to set a boundary to just letting any mate throw themselves at me –“

 

“Oh don’t flatter yourself, Harry, you’re ugly anyway,” Danielle laughs as Harry tries to object, “well I have to go make supper. Thanks for putting that image in my head, Lou. Bye now!” she grimaces but walks away with a wave.

 

“So everyone on this island just bathes together and there’s no, you know, _that_?” Louis breaks the silence, beginning to strip his shirt.

 

Harry does a mixture of a nod and shrug, “we control ourselves enough not to pounce on one another, yes, but only the superiors get to bath at sunset,” Harry motions to the sun that’s level with the horizon, creating a flare of pinks and oranges to light up the sky.

 

“Oh,” Louis halts pulling down his trousers, “so am I –?“

 

Harry waves his hand as a grant of access, “I’m not kicking you out, so join me. I prefer company anyways.” The pool water isn’t visible and there’s steam, he can’t see, Harry assures himself.

 

“When you’re naked and bathing you like to be around people?” Louis asks incredulously, sliding his trousers all the way down, “that’s new.” His dick gets a breeze of fresh air and he sighs while dipping his toe into the pool, “how _do_ you manage to keep the pool temperature warm with no artificial heat?” he keeps the conversation casual as he strolls naked on the edge of the pool.

 

Harry doesn’t stare at him, instead he swims to the edge far as possible away and lifting his arms up to relax against the wall to look at the sunset, “it’s the natural hot steams. There’s one at the bottom of the pool and it’s like a mini volcano, but it only lets out gentle heat clouds and it warms the water.”

 

“Interesting,” Louis hums in acknowledgement, swatting down and finally dipping his legs into the water - letting his lower half get comfortable before fully sliding in. He goes all the way, dunking his head to wet his hair. Springing back up, he shakes his head like a dog to remove water from his face. “So,” he wipes the water away from his eyelashes, swimming next to Harry who scoots away even more, relaxing back into the wall and mimicking the chief’s posture, “are you a fisher like Niall?”

 

Harry snorts, cupping a bowl of water with his hands and refreshingly pours it on his curls, “I’m the one who leads the fishing trips,” he states matter-of-factly.

 

“Do you guys have boats or do you just spear them on the bank?”

 

The chief tenses, fixing himself in the water, “something like spearing.” He wrinkles his nose as if he wants to say more, but decides against it.

 

“I loved fishing when I was in Maine,” Louis sighs, not choosing to grow upset over the thought of his old life, “do you think I can join you some time?”

 

“No,” Harry answers in a blink, eyes going dark blue, “I mean,” he swiftly adds, “it’s too dangerous. We go right before sunrise and it’s dark. Only designated fishers, like Niall and I, with some other men are allowed.”

 

“But why?” Louis asks innocently, pouting his bottom lip out, “can’t I just watch?”

 

“No,” Harry relaxes once more, and the neutral green color is back, “fishing takes determination and concentration, so my fishers need to stay focused.”

 

“I won’t be a distraction,” Louis tries again, “you won’t even know I’m there.”

 

“I said no, Louis. And by law you have to listen to me.”

 

“You don’t have laws here,” Louis mumbles sarcastically, dipping his head down below water before he hears Harry’s reproach.

☼

It’s another beautiful morning on the island and Louis has a white flower crown placed atop his head while he looks out to the ocean. A little girl made him the crown and handed it to him at dinner yesterday – it was so adorable he immediately put it on then and has it on now.

 

He slides his hand along the sand, humming a John Legend song. He misses his music library on his laptop at home with over a thousand songs ranging in all different varieties, but ever since he’s come to Simboya, he’s forgotten his need for material possessions, instead focusing on the simplicity of life. Everything about Simboya is beautiful, even without electricity or normal society advantages. The village runs off of the people, the people’s love and support for one another. If someone needs help, someone else is there without so much as a blink. Everyone is tied together by love, which carries through with food gathering, clothes making, protection and much more. In the normal world, as Louis likes to call it now, everyone only cares about themselves. He would know, as he was once a conceited person that was blinded by obliviousness. He only now realizes how important it is to care for one another.

 

It makes his heart warm.

 

"Is that your land music?"

 

Louis starts in surprise, which makes Harry chuckle as he sits next to other boy on the sand. Blushing, Louis now notices he’s been singing John Legend out loud without fully realizing it.

 

"Yeah,” Louis mumbles, “but -"

 

"It's beautiful."

 

Louis is taken back, turning his head to look into Harry’s eyes. "Trust me my voice is rubbish. You should hear the actual artist."

 

"I have nothing to compare to and I still think your voice is beautiful. Doesn’t that say something?" Harry raises his eyebrows, daring Louis to challenge him. Instead, the boy’s cheek blush an even darker pink. “I wanted to show you something,” Harry continues.

 

“What is it?” Louis stands up from the sand.

 

“Follow me,” the chief turns and starts walking towards the forest, with Louis doing just as he asked. They step along broken tree branches and avoid plants that stretch to the path for a few minutes, holding a comforting silence between them. Louis looks at the trees, smiling as he sees some small animals. Abruptly, he knocks into Harry, who has stopped without him noticing. “Sorry,” he steps back.

 

“You see that?” Harry ignores him, pointing to an assortment of leafs all tangled together.

 

Louis stares it, “It’s a plant.”

 

“But is it, really?”

 

Louis wasn’t expecting it, but he allows Harry to take his hand, gently guiding his fingers towards the leaves. “What are you -?” The boy gasps as the plant comes alive under his touch, the green of it turning a blinding white. The little flowers at the tip of each blossom begin to move as if they were a wave, dancing up the leaf to Louis’ hand.

 

Louis’ eyes widen, looking sideways at Harry for some sort of answer, but the boy only smiles encouragingly, nudging his hand to take a hold of the leaf. He does so timidly, allowing the dancing flowers to travel up his fingers, to his wrist and soon it’s on his shoulder. “Harry,” Louis whispers, his blue eyes twinkling at the site of a flower dancing. “Harry, I think it’s trying to tell me something.”

 

“Be quiet and you’ll hear it,” Harry whispers back, smiling warmly as he watches Louis being amazed. The plant continues to glow specks of white and yellow in front of the two boys, the yellow signaling the plant is feeling very joyful, but only Harry knows this, because most plants on this island don’t show emotion through colors like his eyes. “Everything has life, you just have to be patient and kind enough to be allowed to see it.”

 

It’s really a warming site to watch – Louis’ smile always makes Harry tingle inside. He can feel his colors changing to something he’s never felt before. He doesn’t have a mirror to check what color is eyes have transitioned to, but he can feel the absolute adoration he has for the human, more than he’s ever felt for another thing in his whole life.

 

“Harry,” Louis giggles lightly, bringing a hand up to scoop the still dancing flower off his shoulder and onto Harry’s, “it wants to talk to you.” Harry notices how Louis is struggling to keep his voice soft, trying not to disturb the flower’s peace and he mimics his gentleness, lowering his own ear to allow the flower to whisper.

“ _The rose speaks of love silently, in a language known only to the heart_ ,” the flower’s small voice speaks into his ear, making Harry pull back in puzzlement at the little thing.

 

“Why are your eyes pink?” Louis’ voice is next to whisper in his other ear and Harry momentarily forgot how close they were to one another. Louis’ eyes shine baby blue, mirroring his personality. It’s beautiful and has Harry’s breath taken away. He blinks at the flower, then picks his head up to search Louis’ eyes. They stare back at him, confused on why Harry’s eyes now hold a pink tint.

 

The flower starts to hum an island melody Harry learned as a young child, the one he was humming the other morning. His mother used to hum the same tune to his father late at night, when they were wrapped up in each other’s own little world. Harry never understood why his mother would always look at father that way, but when he locks eyes with the boy standing a mere inches in front of him, it all seems to click.

 

Harry feels his body being poked at from behind. The glowing white plant is gently nudging him towards Louis, and Harry can’t help but fall into the human’s arms. Louis easily catches him, laughing and hugging him to his chest. The flower seems to smile up at him, jumping back to its home leaf. “What did the flower say to you?” Louis ducks his head to whisper in Harry’s ear, sending shivers up the boy’s spine.

 

“Something I can’t tell you,” he replies, hugging Louis back as he watches the forest plants light up around them. The trees sing and the plants hum, creating an unknown world that Louis has yet to experience, but now, in Harry’s arms, he gets to witness this first hand and he can’t wipe the smile off his face.

 

“It told me that I should let love guide me home,” Louis laughs softly, flipping his fringe away from his eyes, “but I’m beginning to think I’m not going home anytime soon.”

 

“You could,” it breaks Harry’s heart to say, “but it’s a rather hard thing to do.” He doesn’t want Louis to leave – he doesn’t even like thinking about it.

 

“Actually,” the tree limbs above the two boys shake, dropping little flowers to create a silver confetti effect. Louis looks up in amazement, breathing even and calmly, “I think I’m okay where I am.”

☼

Later that afternoon, Louis and Harry find themselves atop a cliff, overlooking the ocean. It’s past midday, meaning the sun is leaning west and shines in the boys' eyes. Louis talks animatedly of his past life, telling Harry about his family.

 

He explains that his dad has a bipolar disorder and he was sent to Florida for rehab when Louis was a baby. Harry had asked what a bipolar disorder was and Louis couldn’t put it into words, all he said was that he acted on impulse without thinking of the consequences. His dad never came back to the farm which he grew up on and when he was five his mom found another husband. He’s somewhat grateful his father didn’t come back, because his sisters are the best thing that have ever happened to him.

 

He goes on and on about how his sisters tortured him at home, but when he moved away to college, he missed them like no words could have ever described. He talks about his past relationships – three major ones in total. The first two girls were in middle school and he barely could remember their names, but Hannah was his high school sweetheart. They dated for all four years, but Louis doesn’t understand to this day how they managed to stay together.

 

Hannah thought his dream of becoming a marine biologist was stupid, considering they lived in a middle class farm town where there was no ocean. Louis didn’t let that bother him, he guesses. Harry interrupted saying that was wrong of her to ever put his dream down – “just because it is a dream, it doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen, but if you wish hard enough I think anything is possible”. Louis had smiled as bright as the sun and agreed with him a hundred percent.

 

Harry told him about his childhood on the island and how his family members have been the leaders of Simboya for three generations. His mom and dad had a girl before Harry was born, her name was Gemma, and she was said to be the most beautiful toddler of all Simboya history, but when she was two she was kidnapped and they never found out who was responsible.

 

His mom fell into depression and after a year she had decided she couldn’t deal with the void of not having a child. Harry came next and to this day he still feels as if he was just a cushion baby – that his parents just missed Gemma and had Harry as a replacement, hoping he’d be a girl as beautiful as her. Louis had tried to tell Harry that could never be true.

 

“I mean look what you became, you’re such a dedicated leader and you’re just as gorgeous”, but he just brushed it off and thanked Louis for the compliment. Harry loved his parents more than anything, and they loved him, too, so that’s all that should have mattered. Four months before Louis came into his life, Harry’s parents were found dead in a cave a good mile from their village. They had both drank poison – effectively committing suicide to make sure they died together. Harry wasn’t the one who found them, but if he had, he probably would’ve killed himself as well.

 

Nevertheless, Harry didn't let their selfish decision effect his life and he aspired to be a better chief than the two could be combined. A few tears had escaped his eyes when he remembered hearing about their death and Louis had brought his thumb up to swipe under his eyes. Louis had agreed with him that his parents were selfish pricks, who only thought of themselves and didn’t think of all the people that would miss them, who thought suicide was the only solution to being together in the afterlife, who in the end, should have gone to hell for their actions. Harry had tried to defend his parents, saying they had probably felt trapped as leaders, that they were already depressed about Gemma.

 

Louis grits his teeth, “yeah, life is shit, but if you choose to give up on it when there is so much time and opportunities left, then you’re a loser. I’m sorry about losing your parents, but suicide is fucking selfish.” It makes him angry, because it reminds him of his father’s bipolar disorder, and how not thinking through a decision could hurt not only the person, but also everyone else who cares about him.

 

Harry sighs, daring to lean his head on Louis’ shoulder. Louis’ body is built smaller than his, but it radiates with warmth and Harry just wants to stay like this forever. “You’re right,” he breathes, looking down at the never ending ocean.

 

Maybe one day he could jump into the inviting water and leave all his problems behind… let his worries roll away with the waves and live peacefully for the rest of his days. However he knows he could never be like his parents and knows he must stay to protect his people.

 

Harry remembers the conversation him and Louis had earlier, about how Louis needed to let love guide him home. He has no idea what that means, but he knows the boy must miss his home – especially his sisters he loves so dearly. Has him being on Simboya and away from his family caused his sisters to panic? What if they think Louis is never coming home, just like Gemma? He doesn’t even know what Louis’ sisters look like, but he suddenly feels protective over them. Harry needs to do what’s right. “The only way to get back to your home is to swim,” Harry startles Louis from the silence.

 

“But I don’t want to –“

 

“You need to see your sisters, your family,” Harry insists, painfully lifting his head off of Louis’ shoulder. Louis had his hand petting through Harry’s hair in hopes to calm him down, but it falls to his side at the mention of his sisters. “They don’t know you’re here and they must be worried sick. You can’t stay here forever, it’ll only make it worse.”

 

“I love Simboya,” Louis whispers, gazing down to his feet that dangle off the cliff, “I love everyone here, I love the atmosphere. I miss my family and friends so much, but here I don’t feel like I’m being pounded down by my society. You have no idea what it’s like to live in America,” Louis locks eyes with Harry’s, “Everything is a competition… you never know if everything will crash… there’s so much pressure on college students like me… it’s crazy. Here, I don’t feel like I have to live up to any standards. Here, I can just live and not be judged or hated. Do you get what I’m saying?”

 

Harry nods slightly.

 

“But,” Louis dips his head to smile at Harry, “I want to just forget all that.”

 

“Forget all that?” Harry questions, amused, “it seems like that’s pretty hard to just forget.”

 

“Yeah,” the boy stands, sliding off his shirt and revealing his tanned chest, “I like living in the present. The past is the past and it’ll stay there forever. Let’s go swimming.”

 

“You’re going to dive off a cliff?” the chief stares up at the boy, admiring his personality. Louis is the type of person to lift your spirits when you’re feeling down or when you just need someone to talk to, he’ll be there with an open mind. Harry needs someone like Louis in his life – he would love for him to stay forever.

 

“Oh, you don’t think I can?” Louis challenges, cocking out his hip, “watch and learn.” With that, he throws all caution to the wind and dives off the cliff, making Harry’s heart jump with worry. With a few flips to show off, he straightens his arms and slips into the water like a pencil. Harry breathes a sigh of relief when the boy resurfaces to wave up to him.

 

“Are you sure that was a good idea?” Niall’s voice scares Harry, but he instantly eases, “I mean what if a Machaba –“

                                                                              

“He’s fine, I’m right here if he needs me,” Harry reassures the blond, hooking an arm around his shoulder, “and I don’t think they'd be out at this time anyway.”

 

Louis splashes around, laughing and asking Harry to jump in, but he refuses with a smile on his face. “C’mon! Don’t be a wimp!” he jokes, floating on his back and looking at the sky.

 

A good five minutes goes by, but then, “oh shit,” Niall curses.

 

Harry is too busy admiring Louis to pay attention to the dark figure underwater approaching his body at a high speed.

 

“Harry!” Niall yells to try to get his attention.

 

“What -?” Harry can only watch in shock as the Machaba bites Louis’ arm, trying to pull him under.

 

“What the fuck?!” Louis struggles, screaming at the pain of the stark bite, “Help me! Let go! _Help_! Har-!” his sentence is cut off as he’s dragged under water.

 

“Louis!” Harry screams, diving into the water. Niall curses hysterically, watching as Harry hits the water, then running off to tell the others.

☼

A hand on his bicep wrapping a bandage around the muscle of his arm wakes Louis up. His eyes adjust to the bright sunlight, as the feeling throughout his body slowly awakens. Louis’ eyes blink open to Niall’s blonde hair hovering his face. His arm is jerked to the side, and he huffs as Niall continues wrapping his arm with soft leaves.

 

Louis looks as the blonde bites his lip, his motions rushed and worried. “What’s wrong?” his throat is dry, and it’s like déjà vu of his first day on Simboya.

 

"It’s Harry,” Niall finally finishes, biting the left to cut off the supply. He nods sharply to Danielle as a thanks as she takes the extra leaf with aloe back to the village. “He challenged the Machaba that bit you to a fight."

 

"A fight?” Louis asks, disbelief and anxiety laced in his voice. Harry isn’t strong, he has nice looking muscular arms but he’s a tall stick in Louis’ eyes. “He's going to fight a shark?"

 

Niall quits his fidgeting over Louis’ injuries, looking down at the sand then over to the ocean water.

 

With the boy’s lack of an answer, the worst fills Louis’ mind. Is Harry already hurt? Injured? _Dead_? He can’t die, he cares about his village and everyone in it with all his heart and soul. He’s the most gentle and forgiving person Louis has ever met. He’s never had a relationship, or even kissed someone Louis thinks from what he’s been told. He’s too young to die, he can’t fight a shark! Why in hell would he? "How on earth is he supposed to fight a shark!? He'll be killed!"

 

Louis abandons Niall to run down the beach to the bottom of the cliff he jumped off of. The blonde calls out for him to stop – that he can’t risk getting even more injured. He doesn’t care, and soon spots a throng of people standing together blocking Louis’ view of – _bingo_. He keeps running the rest of the way, high off the worry of Harry. He reaches the crowd and starts pushing his way to the front, ignoring sneers and shouts. As he reaches what’s causing the commotion, Niall is catching up to him.

 

Louis looks at the scene in front of him, with Niall now caught up and trying to pull him to the back of the mass. Harry and a boy stand face to face, sizing each other up with venom in their eyes. He can only see the back of Harry, and he’s reassured he’s still alive and well, but he has no idea who the mysterious boy is.

 

The boy has bleached white hair with pale eyes and olive skin. He’s shorter than Harry, but appears as if he can pack a mean punch. Veins on his arms and legs bulge out of his muscular arms that make Louis wince. Niall successfully manages to pull him away after Louis has got a long look. Louis doesn’t even try to fight him on taking him away from the bout, all he wonders is, "where's the Machaba?"

 

With a heavy sigh, like he knows this conversation was bound to happen, Niall answers, "that is a Machaba."

 

He can only squint in confusion at Niall, then look back to the crowd. "Why is he a human?"

 

All the secrets and sneaking around Harry so strongly tried to hide from Louis are all being brought to the open. Niall bites his lip, knowing everything will be exposed soon, whether he's the one to tell Louis or not.

 

Louis blinks at the silence, and repeats himself once more, "why is he human, Niall? What’s going on?" He needs answers, he can’t deal with the silent treatment at a time like this, not when Harry’s safety is on the line.

 

The crowd behind them erupts in a roar, which causes the blonde’s eyes to widen. The two boys can’t see through the crowd, meaning whatever is going on between Harry and the Machaba is unknown for now. But to keep Louis calm, he needs to remind calm himself. "The Machaba is fighting for your honor,” Niall finally replies.

 

Louis glances at the cheering crowd, but focuses in on what Niall just said, "my _what_?"

 

"The right to mate you.” The sounds of struggling can be heard for a second, but it’s again overheard by the screaming of the people watching on.

 

“ _Mate_ me?” Louis spits, “What does that even mean -?“

 

“How do you reproduce in the human world?” he can hear his own concern breaking through his voice, but Niall fights to stay sane. He knows the answer to his own question, however he can barely think without wanting to run to Harry’s aid.

 

“Human world? Niall, you are human -“

 

“Just answer the question!”

 

“Well, I,” Louis stutters, blushing as he does so, “I guess two people have sex but I don’t understand why -“

 

“The reason the Machaba was trying to pull you into the ocean is to have sex with you,” he states bluntly, leaving that to hang in the air for Louis to comprehend. Harry screams out from inside the crowd.

 

“Wait,” Louis looks as he’s having an internal war, “you’re telling me this Machaba guy wants to have sex with me? The guy, who’s currently fighting Harry?”

 

“Yes.” Machaba grunts loudly, and the sound of a punch to somewhere on someone’s body rings through the air. The crowd takes an intake of breath.

 

“I’m not _owned_ by anyone!” he’s growing furious, “he doesn’t have the right –“

 

“That’s why Harry is fighting for you!”

 

Louis’ mouth drops open, “are you telling me he’s trying to mate me too?”

 

“No! No, you don’t get it,” Niall insists.

 

“Don’t get _what_ Niall? I’m so confused right now! Harry and that guy are both -”

 

Niall wipes a hand over his face, “look, I don’t know how to explain this with you understanding, but Machabas mate hundreds of people in their life time. They all end up the same.”

 

“And what is that?”

 

“Dead.”

 

A child who must have had a front row seat to the fight runs away crying from the crowd, with his mother chasing after him. Niall’s heart starts beating even faster.

 

He continues, speaking quicker and hurried, “Machabas don’t have any mercy. When they want something, they just take it, and when they’re done, the mate is too hurt to continue so they end up dying. So one way or another if a Machaba decides to mate you, you don’t have a choice and you’re basically dead after he’s done.”

 

Louis’s still trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle, “so Harry -?”

 

“Harry knew the Machaba was going to take you and you wouldn’t have a say on it. Challenging a Machaba – it’s another death sentence. One person has to die - no exceptions.”

 

He doesn’t understand. “But why -”

 

“He’s risking his own life to insure you don’t die Louis!” Niall yells, terror straining through his voice at the thought of his best friend dying, “ _he’s_ not trying to mate you!”

 

Louis can’t respond, he can barely feel his own body. Looking back to general direction of where Harry and the Machaba are fighting right now, he feels guilt seep into his core. “No,” he whispers, “no! Harry can’t do that!” he whips back to Niall, “Harry, he’s just a human! Machaba – he’s – he’s half shark! I – I- Niall what the fuck do we do?”

 

“I don’t know!” Niall can’t control his tears as the creep up to his eyes, and he can’t stop when they start leaking to his pale cheeks, “once you challenge someone… one of them has to die in order for there to be a winner.”

 

“But why the fuck does Machaba want _me_?” Louis begins crying without realizing, not until he’s being hugged by Niall who’s crying with him, “Harry can’t die! He should have just let me be mated!”

☼

The sun is low in the sky as Harry lays out on the beach, blood surrounding him and a ringing in his ears. He’s dizzy and his whole body feels as if he's on fire, nonetheless he’s alive. _Alive_.

 

Louis is lying beside him, dapping gently at the cuts and gashes that twitch angrily as he cleans them. They’re both shirtless and Louis’ chest is touching his arm. Every now and then, Louis lays a gentle kiss on Harry’s body – his shoulder, his cheeks, his collarbone – as he’s appreciating the fact he’s still here, still in his arms.

 

Harry still has the shock of choking the Machaba to death with his own bare hands running through his system. The Machaba’s eyes, as he pleaded for mercy, haunts his memory, but whenever Harry starts breathing heavily with his thoughts, Louis is there with soothing words. The only reason he’s not in the afterlife like the Machaba is now, is because of Louis. During the fight, as he was slowly losing energy and preparing to lose his life, he heard Louis crying. He knew he couldn’t leave Louis – or his people – without a fight.

 

After the fight was declared over and Harry had won, miraculously, he was flooded with praise from his people. No longer will a Machaba haunt Simboya’s way of life. No longer will fishing trips only be designated for early morning hours. No longer will children need to stay out of the ocean and learn how to swim in tiny rain pools. Harry has brought happiness and safety among his people – all because of Louis.

 

The amount of cuts to be cared for comes to a close, only leaving nasty bruises. Tasha, the island’s healer, had brought shetica for Harry to drink for his injuries, and encouraged Louis to drink some as well for his shark bite. Harry drank it first and his cuts slowly started healing themselves to Louis’ amazement once again. Louis drank shetica next and his bite is making progress as the minutes tick on.

 

Louis stares at Harry’s arm for a few moments, thinking of what to say. Villagers have fled back to the huts, preparing a feast in honor of Harry’s bravery. Louis does truly feel like he deserves it, but there’s so many unanswered questions. He dares to meet Harry’s eyes and his words catch in his throat.

 

There was a chance Harry could’ve closed his eyes for eternity, all because of Louis.

 

“Why on earth did you do that Harry?” he breathes out, bringing a hand up to smooth across the boy’s jaw.

 

Harry sighs, but shrugs with a sheepish smile, “you could just say thank you.”

 

“You could have been _killed_ ,” Louis strains.

 

“ _You_ could have been killed in the worst possible way,” the chief counters back, wincing as he tries to sit up. The shetica works slowly.

 

Louis pauses, sitting up with him, “Harry, what’s going on?” It’s not a question that Harry can bypass, it’s a demand. “Why was the Machaba a shark one minute and a human the next?”

 

Harry, just like Niall, looks out to the ocean instead of answering. All he’s been trying to avoid is the truth with Louis – but he knew one day it would come out to the open.

 

“Harry answer me,” Louis’ voice sounds like he’s begging, he just needs answers, “ _why_?”

 

“Louis -“

 

“Don’t you ‘Louis’ me!” Louis stands up and starts marching to the water with Harry trailing behind him, “Niall didn’t refer to you and this whole island as humans. What does that make you, hm? Because all this freaky shit is happening with human sharks and – and you eat raw seafood that could give you poisoning! I – I just – what aren’t you telling me? What’s the big secret?”

 

No more secrets. “Do you remember the day I saved you?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Do you, really?” Harry whispers as he sits down on the sand, looking deflated. Louis, confused, sits down next to Harry with the water tickling his toes.

 

“How could I forget?” he murmurs back.

                             

“Then how did you end up here? On this island, I mean.”

 

“I –“ Louis silences, trying to remember but his mind is blank, “I don’t remember, actually. One minute I was surfing then – then…”

 

“Then what?”

 

“Then I-I was underwater and I passed out.”

 

“And how did you pass out?”

 

“Harry I don’t -”

 

“How did you pass out?!”

 

“You choked me!” Louis yells. He’s about to question why he’s getting all worked up, but then recognition dawns on him, “wait,” he drags out, crinkling his eyebrows in thought, “wait a minute. How did you – I mean –” he shakes his head, “that doesn’t make sense. I was on my board and – and I was heading straight towards the rock. I was in the curl of the wave. Wait, what the fuck,” he tries to look at Harry but the chief refuses to look in his eyes, “how could you have pulled me off my board in the middle of the curl? No one can swim against a wave and not go with the current. You – you pulled me off and the wave just kept traveling overhead and that’s when I passed out – when you put your hand around my throat,” Louis picks his hand up to gently touch at the vein that Harry dug his nails into. “Harry,” he breathes, “I don’t understand.”

 

“Exactly,” Harry breathes, “and when you jumped off the cliff into the ocean before, why didn’t I go with you?”

 

“I- I just thought you were afraid of water this whole time.”

 

“For fuck’s sake, Louis, how could I be afraid of the water if I saved you in it?!” Harry irritably stands up, sprinting towards the ocean and diving in headfirst. Louis looks at the water, momentarily frozen when the water lights up a whole shade of beautiful colors.

 

It’s bright with a sea green that blends into yellow, the yellow fades back to the regular color of the sea and Harry’s head pops up from the water. His curls are soaked, stuck to his forehead in clumps. His chest glistens with metallic silver, reflecting off the last rays of sun out on the horizon. Louis is taken aback by the sudden rush of pure beauty embedded into Harry’s form, confused on why the boy is glowing. “This is why I was able to save you from the wave.”

                             

Louis gasps when a tail is brought up to the surface. A mermaid tale. A fucking bright turquoise mermaid tale with two fins like all those fantasy movies Louis has watched on the mythical creatures of the sea. Harry wiggles his tail to show emphasis, splashing around the water, “this tail gives me supersonic speed when underwater. I was out by the Hawaiian Islands trying to avoid Machabas to get fish for the village when I saw you on your board about to crash into the rock. I plucked you off the board, and when I put my hand around your throat, I was trying to give you the ability to breathe under water, but you kept struggling so it didn’t work.

 

This whole island isn’t human, Lou. We’re mermaids - or some type of creature that we change into when we touch water. Some grow tails and others turn into sharks. The only way to get back to your home is to have this tail, otherwise you would die of swimming exhaustion because it’s thousands of miles away. When I come on land and dry off, I get my legs back. That’s how it works with all of us – Niall, Danielle, everyone. I didn’t want you to be afraid so that’s why I told them not to tell you.”

 

“You – you,” Louis’ throat closes with shock eating away his senses, in the meantime slowly standing from the white sand, “you _lied_ to me.”

 

“No,” Harry swims to the water’s edge, flopping on to the sand laid out in front of Louis whose legs are refusing him movement, “no, Louis, I didn’t want to scare you away, please.” The tail starts to sizzle with the sunrays drying off each scale, a gray cloud of smoke lifting up to the sky. In a flash of gray and turquoise, human legs return Harry to his human form.

 

The mermaid reaches out to grab Louis’ hand once Harry’s standing in front of him, but the boy retracts from the touch with disgust. His head still shakes with disbelief, all the words he wants to say stuck in the back of his mind. “Louis answer me,” Harry tries again with a whimper, and Louis can only watch as the taller boy steps closer with legs that were _a tail_ a few minutes ago. A fucking _tail_.

 

He wants his life back. Louis wants to run from this island and forget these people, these monsters.

                                      

So he does.

 

His brain sends signals to his feet to start sprinting in the other direction. He can faintly hear the sounds of Harry yelling after him, but Louis doesn’t. He’s been on this island long enough to know where to run to, where no one will dare look for him – the snatches. Harry has only talked about the forbidden rocks a few times, mentioning the danger and the myth of supernatural events. All he knows is there’s rocks and surely if there’s rocks, that means there’s caves. He’ll hide in those until he can conjure up a plan of escape. Maybe he’ll build a raft, and face the waves and the endless miles of ocean, whatever it takes to get home.

☼ 

Stepping in front of the snatches, he feels like he can’t look away. What stands in front of him, he admits, is pretty terrifying. There are rocks carved into different expressions of a face - all facing the beach Louis stands on now. The rocks are six times Louis' size and they look ancient. Louis cowers to the beach, unable to stand closer. The snatches are looking into Louis' soul in his mind and he feels so exposed with all these carved eyes staring at him. Niall was right, if he wasn’t so petrified of Harry and the whole island right at this minute, he'd be running back to the safety of the village.

 

“Louis."

 

He lets out a scream that could be classified as a girl's. He spins around, expecting Harry, but is met with three totally different people. One he recognizes as Eleanor, the girl he met the first day of being at Simboya who gave him oranges. The other two he's never seen before - one girl, one boy. The girl is short with wild black hair, a hard face and eyes that squint as they scan over Louis. The boy is tall, with his equally dark hair sticking up to the sky, he has narrow shoulders and long limbs. Louis doesn’t know if he should trust these three. Are they merpeople too?

 

“I knew you were human," Eleanor whispers, smiling as she steps closer, running her finger up Louis' chin creepily. Louis’s about to start running again, but then she whispers “I am, too."

 

"You are?" he breathes out, eyes wide, shoulders deflating.

 

"Yes," she looks like she has tears in her eyes, “I thought I was the only one left. Look," the girl with her gives her a canteen and she opens it. She pours water on her arms and nothing happens. "They’re human too," and she pours water on their arms to prove a point.

 

"Who are they, though?" Louis still feels self-conscious as he's being stared at.

 

Eleanor points to the girl, "this is Cher, this is Nick," the boy nods towards him. "They’re both from North Island."

 

Louis wants to smile or greet them friendly, but at the mention of North Island, he frowns. "North Island?" he questions, the fear creeping up back his spine.

 

"Yes," Nick answers as he steps closer as well. Cher still has not said a word and Louis is starting to doubt she will. "We need your help."

 

"I can’t do anything special," Louis almost stutters, thinking back about Harry’s wound he got fighting those North Island warriors with a shiver, or about the eyes of the warrior that were piercing and menacing as they looked at Louis before shooting him with a venom dart.

 

"We want to kill all the mermaids."

 

At this, Louis looks at Nick with startled eyes. "Kill all of them?" he screeches, despite how he was acting not ten minutes ago. "You can't kill all of them, there are children in that village! Mothers to be! Fathers! Families! Why would you kill them?"

 

"I knew he would defend them," Cher whispers, just as if Louis' not standing right in front of her, "he has lived with them longer than he should have had, I told you."

 

"What is that supposed to mean?" a furrow finds its way into Louis' eyebrows.

 

"I know he has," Nick spits, staring back at Louis with a new look the boy can't pin an adjective for. Eleanor stares at Louis as the two start bickering over who was right and suddenly the blue in her eyes shade over to black. Louis' own eyes almost bulge out of his sockets.

 

"You’re lying!" he screams, pointing at Eleanor who curses as she tries to fix her eyes. "You’re a mermaid! Harry’s eyes do the same thing!"

 

Harry’s beautiful green eyes, the ones Louis wishes were staring into his right now, as he had his arm around his shoulder or holding his waist like he did on top of the cliff. Why did he have to lie to him?

 

"Oh for fuck's sake Eleanor, you can't keep your lust out of the way for two goddamn seconds!" Nick yells, reaching out to grab Louis' bicep before the boy could tell his feet to start running again. Louis screams and drops to the ground, struggling to have Nick release him.

 

"You know how much I hate this," he growls towards the stupid girl, but looks back at Louis with his eyes now dark brown compared to the gray before. Nick takes one hand and places it in Louis' hair, pulling the strands hard enough to make Louis whimper. Louis scrambles to get his hands to Nick's wrist that’s holding his hair, trying to get him to release it. He feels like a girl fighting with her sister over a stupid problem that resulted in hair pulling.

 

 

But Louis soon starts losing the thoughts that are circling through his head like wildfire. Harry soon is drifted into nothingness and Louis only remembers the hatred and betrayal he felt as he ran away from the boy. All he feels are emotions that make him want to tear Harry apart, nothing else, nothing about Nick, Cher or Eleanor lying to them. When Nick finally lets go of his hair, Louis falls to the sand and is instantly out like light.

☼ 

“I spot him,” Nick looks back to Cher with a sharp nod towards the dark warriors, “you and the pack hang here until I give you the signal. I’m taking Louis and Eleanor up to the edge of the forest, and when Louis gets Harry to come closer, you need to have them ready.”

 

Eleanor bites her lip, looking at her chief that has a search party following him around the island trying to find Louis. Niall is in the water, checking if Louis has tried to swim out to sea in order to get home and Olly clearly looks pissed that he has to do this, but doesn’t disrespect Harry’s orders. She’s about to betray her own island and she’s having second thoughts for the first time since she’s decided to be Nick’s ally. Louis stands just beside her, listening to Nick intently and nodding when he finished talking to Cher – oblivious on what he’s agreeing to do.

 

“Alright, start walking,” Nick instructs, and Louis promptly listens. Louis woke up this morning with no memory once again, but this time Nick didn’t give him shetica, and he put his trust into Nick’s hands. He doesn’t remember who Harry is, and all he was told to do is lure the boy to the forest’s edge – what he doesn’t realize is that Nick is planning to kill Harry and all the Simboyans he can get his hands on.

 

Eleanor follows as well, going over her part of the plan in her mind. She’s supposed to clear the forest of any of Harry’s search party, and by clear, she means kill. Never in her life has she hurt another person, let alone someone who thought they could trust her, being she’s lived on Simboya all her life. She takes a deep breath, preparing herself, knowing after this she’ll forever have to live on North Island and be separated from everyone she’s ever loved.

 

She can’t do this.

 

“Nick,” she’s about to back out, but it’s too late. Louis is stepping out of the forest by Nick’s command, walking up to Harry, who is talking to Olly. Harry spots Louis in an instant and his mouth drops open. Nick signals Cher to bring the warriors in.

 

Eleanor starts to panic, knowing in a few seconds the dark warriors will go forth to kill Harry, then everyone else on Simboya. She takes off running from Nick, right into the open where everyone can see her making a commotion. “It’s a trap!” she screams as loud as she can, “you’re all going to be killed, run while you –“ she gasps as a spear pierces through her chest, “run,” she whispers, as she falls to the ground face first.

 

Louis screams at the sight of the girl, “ _Nick what’re you doing_?!” but he’s not heard.

 

The dark warriors charge to the beach at that moment, throwing spears at Simboya natives and running towards Harry. With Eleanor’s warning, the search party takes off running to the water, diving in and instantly growing tails. Within seconds, the natives are swimming at supersonic speed away from the beach, avoiding the dark warriors who were instructed by Nick to avoid the ocean.

 

Harry grabs Louis’ arm and throws him to the forest, guarding him from the dark warriors as they approach. Olly takes the hand knives that are strapped to his belt and fling each one with precise movements. Three warriors take a knife to the chest, making them fall to the ground. As the seven others advance, Niall comes running up from behind them, spearing two and tripping three. Two other natives come to help Niall, and together they kill all five warriors with their bare hands. That leaves two that are still after Harry – the chief is able to think fast and hold two spears towards the warriors at the last second, which the warriors run straight through and penetrate their throats. The two fall to the ground, heaving for air, but Harry finishes the job and smashes their heads open with a rock.

 

Louis stands at the forest’s edge, gaping like a fish at what he just witnessed, then a body is coming from behind to cover his mouth and immobilize him. He thrashes under the hold and has no choice to be pulled out to the beach, where Harry, Niall, Olly, and the other natives speculate over the dead warriors.

 

“I’ll kill him right now,” Nick seethes, twisting Louis’ neck for Harry to see – the chief freezes in place, “I’ll snap his neck faster than you can blink, Styles, don’t you dare step forward.”

 

Louis whimpers under Nick’s hold, looking at Harry with pleading eyes. Harry takes a shaking breath, holding eye contact with Louis, “what do you want?” he begs Nick, fighting to remain calm. Niall and Olly behind him spot Cher coming up behind Nick.

 

“I want you killed,” Nick fumes, “if Louis regains his memory, he’ll come running back to you, but if you’re dead then he’ll stay with me,” Louis’ eyes snap shut in pain when Nick pulls him even closer to his body.

 

“Louis,” Harry whispers, sounding as if he’s hurting just by looking at him, “please Nick just –“

 

Nick lets out a bloodcurdling scream from behind Louis, startling them all. Cher pulls the knife out of Nick’s back, throwing it to ground and stepping away. Louis is released from his hold, instantly running a few feet away. Nick screams again and again, cursing Cher, cursing Harry – before falling to his knees, then falling forward to die.

 

Everyone stares at Cher with a new found gratitude. She shrugs her shoulders, spitting on Nick's body, "He was annoying as shit, anyway." Niall and Olly go to her to express a huge thank you, and the three begin talking about uniting North Island and Simboya once again - just like it was before Nick took the title as chief.

 

As Harry comes rushing over to Louis’ aide, the boy starts losing consciousness, stumbling into Harry’s arms in a mess of limbs and words. The last thing he hears is Harry’s shout to get Tasha, before he’s out.

☼ 

Niall’s sentence cuts mid-way, staring at the doorway. Harry begins to wonder what made him stop speaking, craning his neck around and holding a gasp.

 

Louis stands at the doorway, holding the curtain halfway open and inching inside, “Can I come in?” he weakly asks, his voice strained. Harry doesn’t have to think twice and nods, allowing the boy to fully step inside as the curtain falls closed.

 

The two sit in silence, as Louis stands at the doorway, hesitant on taking a seat next to Harry. “I’m just,” Niall collects the papers Harry and him were discussing, “Dani is waiting for me too, yeah, I’ll see you guys later,” he swiftly exits with a smile.

 

“Harry,” Louis suddenly sighs, exhausted, and comes over to sit in front of the chief, “I wanted to come here and say thank you for saving me, because I had no idea Nick brainwashed me, or whatever he did I don’t know mermaid shit, and if it wasn’t for you then I would probably be dead. You have saved my life more times I can count and I feel awful because you always make sure I’m safe when in return I carry out a plan to murder you. Just,” he runs a hand through his hair, “what I’m trying to say is, I get it if you don’t want me here. I can, I don’t know how, but I can go and live by myself. I’ll find my own food and – and I’ll build my own huts so you can stop worrying about me. I’m the only human on this island and that means people are waiting to jump my bones so I just don’t want you to –“

 

Harry’s lips are on his in that instant, applying sweet pressure Louis wasn’t expecting at all. He’s too shocked to kiss back, leaving his hands awkwardly still situated on his lap.

 

The merman pulls back with a smile that looks as if he won the lottery, and in his eyes, he has.

 

Louis is back and out of harm’s way.

 

“I’m so glad you’re safe,” he whispers, circling his arms around Louis and hugging him like if he lets go, the boy will disappear again.

 

“You’re not mad?” Louis whispers, stunned.

 

“It wasn’t your fault,” Harry pull back, “you didn’t understand what was going on, Nick… he brainwashed you, in order for you to hate me so you’d help him hurt us. If he didn’t die, you would’ve stayed under his trace and eventually he would’ve made you fall in love with him.”

 

“Fall in love with him?” _I think I love_ you _, Harry, not Nick._

“That’s why he wanted me killed,” the chief’s eyes downcast with the thought, “North Island has been trying to get to you because you’re human, but I’ve been protecting you from Nick and his warriors. I didn’t know how they got the information about you coming here, but when I saw Eleanor run away from Nick to warn us, I figured out she’s been a spy this whole time,” Harry shakes his head, “she was a sweet girl, too, I don’t know what happened. If it wasn’t for her, though, we could’ve all been killed.”

 

Louis shakes his head along with Harry, “why would Nick want you killed? What’s the difference if I were to have fall in love with him rather than a mermaid?”

 

“There’s this myth… about human love,” Harry murmurs. He doesn’t want Louis to think he’s trying to hint at anything by telling him. He’s come to terms he loves Louis already, but he has no idea how the boy feels about him.

 

“What is it?”

 

“The myth says, if a human falls in love with you, whomever he or she is becomes immortal. I personally haven’t seen this since I was born, my mother said she’s seen it happen, though, once, when she was seven. But the human and mermaid went off the live on a distant island to be together and haven’t been seen since. Some people say they were never real.”

 

It’s all starting to click in Louis’ mind. The dark warriors that came down from the trees were from North Island, they were looking to capture Louis and Harry knew this and had men ready to fight. Eleanor lusted after Louis and betrayed Nick because she wanted Louis to fall in love with her, or because she knew it was wrong for Nick to _brainwash_ Louis love him. “How do you know if the mermaid gains immortality?”

 

“My mother said the mermaid starts to glow, is lifted up into the air by the gods and is given their spirit. I’m not sure if it was just her childish imagination though, nobody will know in this generation, because before you came along we’ve never seen a human.”

 

Louis looks at Harry, now in a new perspective. Harry always looks at him in a way that makes Louis’ insides flutter. Harry is always so kind and gentle with him, showing him the world through his own eyes, willing to put his life on the line to save him. Harry loves him – but he’s shielded his own feelings because he’s afraid Louis could never love him back.

 

With new motivation, Louis dips his head to be level with Harry’s face and seals their lips together - when their lips touch, fireworks explode behind his eyes like every girl in movies dream of. Everything clicks perfectly into place.

☼

The vast ocean waves roll and crash evenly onto the unshaken smooth sand. With a colorful wash of the sunset creating a perfect string of colors dancing across the once clear blue sky, the day shifts to night. With every growing minute of the day draining away, the night air begins to pick up distant bitter wind crawling up from the south.

 

Harry and Louis, with their hands clasped together, dance down the miles of surf and sand. Every crawl of ocean water has the two inching towards from the freezing water, only to scramble away laughing.

 

Both enjoy the blessed day that’s coming increasingly closer to an end with every dip of sun, hopelessly infatuated with one another.

 

They lay out on the soft sand, Louis settled in between the chief’s legs. The sun is slipping down the horizon; its travel leaving beautiful flurries of pink, purple, and orange to light the sky. It warms both of their hearts just knowing when morning comes, the world they came to know will be lightened with the support of their people.

                                                                                   

“I would have never imagined falling in love with a human, nonetheless meet one in my lifetime,” Harry says thoughtfully, running a thumb down the smaller boy’s exposed hipbone, savoring the touch. His chin rests on the dip of his shoulder, breathing in the familiar strawberry scent he holds dear so.

 

A bird squawks overhead, diving down to the waves to snatch a miniature fish. “Remember how I yelled at you when I first got here?” Louis chuckles, toying with the boy’s fingers that dance along his waist, “I kept calling you names and tried to punch you, then I ended up running away.”

 

“I’m guessing that would happen if you have no idea who I am or where you are.”

 

The sunset is starting to glow with the night stars transitioning the sky into darkness. Wind begins to pick up once more, and Harry hugs Louis closer into his defined chest where a few necklaces lay next to his heart, each handmade by children in the village. “I don’t see myself with anyone else in this world.”

 

A smile tugs on the corners of Louis’ lips, “neither do I,” he turns into the chief’s chest, pressing his lips gingerly against Harry’s. Once pulled away, he snuggles in the crook of the taller boy’s neck, “I love you Harry.”

 

Something Harry would have expected to witness occurs at the moment.

 

His mouth feels constricted, as he tries to say ‘I love you’ back, but all the oxygen has suddenly vanished from his lungs. Louis notices when Harry’s skin starts glowing, and he pulls back from the boy’s body. He too, is shocked into saying nothing as Harry’s body begins to drift up off the ground.

 

“What are you –“ Louis gasps, shielding his eyes as Harry’s body electrifies in glow, turning a blinding white. A sound amplifies through the air, sending sound waves down the beach and through the forest that cause animals and birds alike to scramble. The people in the village thousands of feet away cover their ears, with children screaming and pets howling. Louis is deft to this noise, however, and keeps his hands over his face. The color of the ocean brightens, as does the sky as clouds drift away.

 

When it’s quiet, and Louis doesn’t feel the need to protect his eyes anymore, he peeks through the cracks in his fingers to find Harry standing above him, the chief looking at Louis like his world has finally come together – and it has.

 

“Harry,” Louis whispers, sounding as he’s about to cry, as realization dawns in his mind on what just occurred. He jumps up from the sand, colliding with Harry’s body in a hug that seems to bring them together even closer.

                       

“You – you love me,” Harry pulls away to stare into Louis’ eyes, with tears prickling the side of his own.

 

“You’re immortal,” the boy chokes out, barely hiding how he’s about to cry, “the myth was true! You’re –“ but he can’t finish, as Harry covers his lips with his own.

                                           

It’s different now, in the sense he feels as if all the answers in the world could be solved with a simple kiss, as if a hug could cure all diseases, as if a smile could light up a whole continent – as if Harry could forever be his, and he could forever be Harry’s.

 

They pull apart with tears in their eyes, as Louis’ blue eyes shine with the last dip of the sun. They stare out at the horizon, watching as the flame of light dies with the night, “I love you Louis,” the two lock eyes, hands still holding tight, “and I always will,” Harry whispers.

 

The empty promise lies out to dance with the ocean air, drifting away down the shore.               

☼

The sun is big and bright, casting over the island beach and making each wave sparkle with clarity. Louis strolls with a smile, bare feet sliding along the sand with the familiar softness wiggling through his toes. It’s relatively quiet, no person in sight and not a sound coming from the small village that lays beyond the palm trees.

 

Louis thinks back to the night before, how it felt to have Harry wrapped in his arms after making love. And truly, Louis thinks that was definition behind love making. Harry was gentle yet satisfying, making his experience pleasurable being it was his first time with a male. Harry knew was he was doing, for it being his first time too. He used an oil to slowly finger Louis open, with Louis whimpering but moaning into Harry's neck at the new sensation. When Harry filled him, they fit together like a puzzle and Louis never wanted it to end after he got over the initial sting.

 

He doesn’t even know what Harry is considered but out of water, but he’s a normal boy, with a heart, brain, and an amazing dick. With a smile on his face, he thinks of the life him and Harry will live together, as leaders of Simboya.

 

A breeze picks up from the north, blowing Louis’ fringe out of his eyes. He thinks about home, how his life has completed evolved since being on this island. It’s changed him. Before Harry, he hadn’t even thought of looking beyond girls for a relationship - the boy has opened his eyes to a new world, transforming his sexuality along with it. Maybe, just maybe, he could learn to love this island even more than his family farm, Maine, and New Jersey. Maybe he could stay here for the rest of his life – here, in this paradise unknown to the world.

 

He thought he would never accept this island, always thought there was a way to go home – but right now? Staying here, especially with Harry, doesn’t sound bad at all.

 

The wind picks up suddenly, the palm tree whistling lowly beside Louis. He shivers, not used to the cold weather, and thinks he should head back to Harry. He should be waking up soon and he would be wondering where Louis has gone off to.

 

A coconut falls feet away from him, landing with a loud thump and creating a dent in the sand. Louis breathes a sigh of relief that he managed to dodge the object, quickening his pace down the beach to avoid being hit – but with no such luck.

 

He drops to the ground, passed out from the blow to the head. The wind continues to swirl in the air around his unconscious body, making the trees growl. Ocean water sparkles with silver, roaring alive and huge waves crashing to the sand. Rocks begin to fill themselves over, the wave current strong and rocking into their sides. The sand begins to dance with the wind, picking up Louis’ body and floating up to the sky. The world spins around him, escalating various colors with a montage of different objects. With one last bellow of wind, the ocean calms and the wind stops. Everything is quiet, and Louis still hasn’t awakened.

☼

Hands shake Louis’ shoulders, jolting him awake and forcing him to open his eyes. His eyelashes feel sticky, almost like they are glued together, but he manages to zero in his vision. He’s meet with a man staring with sunglasses and a smear of suntan location across each cheek. “He’s alive!” the man shouts. Louis picks up there are more people surrounding his body.

 

“Harry,” his tongue feels too heavy, lips dry and cracked like he hasn’t eaten or drank in days. He’s stuck in a daze of chocolate curls, green eyes, and muscular arms wrapped tight around him. His eyes blink quickly, clawing his fingernails into the man’s bicep, “Harry?” he tries again, voice coming out strained and weak in a broken whisper.

 

“Come on,” the man puts a plastic water bottle in his palm, encouraging him to take a sip, “it’s alright sir, you’re safe. _Someone get the stretcher, he looks too weak to stand_!” There’s a commotion, accompanied with a series of flashing lights.

 

Louis slaps the bottle away, twisting his head around to peer at all the people. They’re dressed in red swimwear with ‘coast guard’ written somewhere noticeable. There’s a swarm of photographers standing thirty feet away, snapping pictures with news reporters filming. “Where’s Harry?” his voice is still a whisper, and the man tries to force the water down his throat.

 

He lets some of the water go down to help him talk, before shoving the man’s shoulder back, “Where’s Harry?” he demands, sounding lost and broken. “Someone, answer me!” he starts to feel tears, because no one’s listening to him. The man with the sunglasses is yelling at a team of men who carry a white stretcher, marching over to Louis.

 

“Harry!” he cries, and he feels the tears start to leak out in confusion, “Harry, where are you?!” the men try to pick him up but he wiggles out of their grip.

 

“Please relax, sir, let us take you to the hospital. You are dehydrated and delusional from lack of nutrition.” Louis cries out for Harry, even going out to scream Niall’s name but no one cares – no one’s listening to him and he’s getting frustrated.

 

“Harry, answer me!” he’s placed on the stretcher, his arms and legs strapped down to cut off his movements.

 

“Louis,” the said boy whips his head around to see Liam and Zayn standing a foot away, Liam in tears with Zayn holding his waist. Liam looks absolutely horrible, bags under his eyes with his hair distraught. Zayn doesn’t look any better, but he isn’t crying, trying to hold it together.

 

“Liam! Zayn!” Louis sobs, struggling to release his own limbs, “Guys help me, where’s Harry? Where’s Niall?” he’s being treated like a child, and even Liam and Zayn are looking at him like a mad man.

 

“W-who’s Harry?” Liam whispers between his sobbing, hands cradling his face, “Who’s Ni-iall? Louis w-what are you-u talking about?

 

“The mermaids from Simboya!”

 

Everyone seems to stop as he says that, staring at Louis like he’s crazy. “Why are you all staring at me like that?” he spits, still struggling on the stretcher.

 

“Simboya is a myth,” the man with the glasses comes up to look down at him with sympathy written on his face that makes Louis feel sick, “It’s not a real place. It’s just a fairy tale used for the children to put them to bed. The legend tells of the mermaids who live there and everyone _knows_ mermaids aren’t real –“

 

“Of course they’re real!” he protests like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, nose wrinkled in antipathy, “I met them! I lived with them for the past month! Harry –“ he breaks under everyone’s concerned stares, “stop staring at me like that! Harry saved me from the wave on Waltedo! He brought me back to Simboya and I’ve been there ever since!”

 

There’s a pause where all the coast guards and photographers exchange glances, including Liam and Zayn.

 

Then everyone starts to erupt in laughter, clutching his or her stomachs from the deranged story.

 

“Louis,” Zayn and Liam aren’t laughing with everyone, instead looking like worried parents, “Louis, you’ve only been missing for a day. The wave sucked you into the curl and you’ve been floating. You washed up here this morning and this man found you and called for help,” Zayn stops talking and points to a man with sunglasses who’s cackling with the others, “We’ve been worried sick, we –“ Liam cries harder at his boyfriend’s words, clutching Zayn’s shirt with fever, “We thought you were dead.”

 

“But,” Louis feels like he’s been run over by three trucks, his heart clenching uncontrollably with shoots of pain in his chest, “That – that can’t be right,” he begins to cry again, denial over taking his body, “No!” he cries out loud, screaming “Harry! _You can’t leave me_!” the coast guards stop laughing, going back to loading Louis on to the ambulance, “ _I never got to say goodbye_!”

 

“Please sir, just breathe and you’ll be fine” another man is by his side, and Louis is set inside the ambulance. Louis looks at his two friends on the beach with the photographers grabbing every juicy detail of their next headline, but tears block most of his vision and he thinks back to wave.

 

_He wants to scream but the cold water fills his lungs before he's given a chance. He can't breathe. He can't see. He can't think. And soon his world turns black, this time, with his body falling unconscious under the water from lack of oxygen._

And that’s exactly how Louis feels now. This time however _,_ his world turns black, with his the crushing realization Harry, and Simboya, were never real.

 

It was all in his imagination, and he sobs out one last time before he passes out, coming to realization he’ll never see the one person he truly loved ever again.

_the end_

☁

**Author's Note:**

> Wow this is finally posted :o I never thought I’d be done tbh. (just a reminder, this was all in louis' imagination, so that's why when louis first comes to simboya the story is a bit off)
> 
> idk, i was thinking about a sequel but i think where i left off. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think in the comments, thank you x


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